


Grim Delight

by OctoberCrow



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Backstory, Brutal Murder, Childbirth, Cute Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Love, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Good Dad Cedric, Grim Reapers, Hurts So Good, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Insanity, My First Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Personal Lore & Headcanons, Separation, Separation Anxiety, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Unsolved Murder, child trafficking, insane asylum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-03-07 15:10:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13437447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OctoberCrow/pseuds/OctoberCrow
Summary: Lucinda Quinton has always seen life as a muddy ditch, that will pull you down no matter how hard you try to climb out. Spending most of her life in fear of what will throw her back down into the depths. That is until she met the Undertaker.





	1. The Investigation

**Author's Note:**

> 5 years ago I wrote an Undertaker fanfiction on Quotev, which I now feel ashamed about. I think after posting that one story, I lost my writing groove. I felt depressed and had a near impossible time writing anything because I thought it was all terrible. In fact, I even started to hate my own characters, especially those I created in middle school. Lucinda was one of those characters, and I felt like there was no way that she was salvageable. Then one day I thought "If I hate her, why not redesign her and her backstory?" This brings us to this story, this is not a rewrite of Take Me *Undertaker Love Story*, it's a reboot.

The bell above the door rang as Inspector Abberline walked into the small Undertaker shop, looking for information about an old case. He was trying to solve this completely cold case, with no leads, everyone told him he was a fool for even trying. The shop was so eerily quiet, the silence brought his attention to how cramped the small shop really was. Coffins were leaned against all the walls, except the right wall where two different doorways were, with heavy grey curtains drawn to hide what lay behind them, and a few bureaus full of medical supplies. Various jars lined the top of the bureaus, their contents unknown, but there was one with no lid that contained what looked like dog biscuits. In the center of the room were two couches and a coffin-shaped coffee table, perhaps to make discussion of burial easier. Abberline jumped at the sound of heels coming from the back room of the shop heading toward where he stood. A beautiful young woman stepped out from behind the curtain, in a simple black dress. She smiled crookedly and headed to the other room. This was odd, to say the least, everyone had told him a man owned this shop, had no employees, and wouldn't accept payment in any form. 

She returned to the main room holding a tray with two beakers full of tea, and a plate with those biscuits. Setting it down on the coffee table, she looked at Abberline “Hello sir, welcome to Undertaker’s shop. How may I help you today?”

Abberline watched with interest as she sat down on one of the couches, and gestured to the one across from it. He sat at her request and picked up the beaker with hot tea in it, before asking “Is Undertaker here?”

“Sadly he’s not feeling well today, so I’m handling all the business in the shop” she explained taking a sip of her tea, not wincing from the heat.

Abberline stared into his beaker, there’s no way she would be able to give him the information that he needed… then again, what’s the harm in asking? He looked back to the woman and asked: “Can you give me information about a case?”

She smiled, clearly intrigued by his question “Well, of course, I can inspector, but the information comes at a price here.”

  
“I heard the Undertaker doesn’t take payment,” he said, quirking an eyebrow questioningly.

“Of course we don’t take normal payment, we have no use for the Queens coins” a sly grin spread on her face “we only accept compensation in the forms of jokes and deals.”

Abberline was completely thrown for a loop, what did she mean they had no use for currency? How could they live without any money? He sighed and set his beaker down “Alright, what do you want?”  
“Usually I make deals, but…” she walked over to where Abberline still sat and ran an impressively long nail along his cheek “I’ll make an exception for you, inspector.”

The silence that followed was uncomfortable, she was making an exception him… why? Was it because she thought he couldn’t handle whatever deal she proposed? He steeled his gaze and pushed her hand away from his face “I’ll make a deal with you for the information I need”

She chuckled, sitting on the table that had separated them before “You’re quite bold, and here I thought you’d appreciate my politeness. Alright, tell me about your case so I can give you a fair deal.”

“It’s a murder that happened 12 years ago, four men were found in an abandoned laboratory. Three were stabbed to death with a scalpel, one of whom had an eye removed, one had his guts ripped out, the third victim was just stabbed in the neck. The fourth had very odd wounds, they weren’t identified as any kind of blade we knew, but there were five wounds in his neck and his chest. The murder weapon was found, but we couldn’t link it back to any suspects. The case has been cold for 11 years now, but I’m determined to solve it.”

She tsked, her soft eyes, turned dark and cold as she listened to his description of the crime scene. Her whole demeanor had changed, in fact, she was tense now clearly bothered by something he’d mentioned. It was clear she was contemplating whether or not to help him, her brows furrowed in thought then she sighed heavily.

“I know this case” she looked down at the floor “I know who killed them… so here’s our arrangement. I’ll tell you the whole story, and after I’m done telling you everything, you will not arrest me or take me to the insane asylum. Understood?”

This woman had basically just confessed to killing them, and she expected him to just let her get away with it? Yet, if he didn’t listen to her story, he’d never know what happened that night… was it worth it to let a murderer get away again? He held out his hand, to her and said quickly “I agree to your deal”

She took his hand and shook it firmly, before sitting back on the couch “You’ll be here awhile inspector so allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Lucinda Quinton.”

“My name is Fred Abberline” he responded, settling in his seat he prepared for a long day.


	2. The Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucinda tells most of the story of her past to Inspector Abberline, in return he gives her some helpful information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter written since I published the last one, I was kinda waiting for a comment or some form of feedback. Well, I'll publish this one and hope this is okay... I tried. My writing still needs a lot of work.

“My first memory is being forcibly dragged out of my home, and thrown into a cart with other children. I didn’t understand it at the time, but now I know that my parents sold me. I barely remember them, but I do know that they couldn’t afford to take care of me, so they sold me, the same as livestock. We traveled all night, huddled together for warmth as the night air chilled us to the bone. We were taken to a remote location where all of us were dragged into an abandoned house and put into the basement together. The doors were locked unless one of the five men came downstairs to take someone up into the main house. The house itself wasn’t much nicer than the basement. When I was taken upstairs, they tied me to a chair and tattooed a special number on my arm. S-007, it was so painful that even when it was over I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t sleep that whole first night, and when the pain finally subsided, I stared at the ceiling and hoped my parents would rescue me soon. How stupid I was to think they ever cared about me, that I was anything more than a money pit to them.

“I spent my first year with those five men, other children that were given up by their parents, every day more joined us. In a farming town, I saw them kidnap my big brother Finnian from his family. He had been working in a very large field on his own, so those men took him away from his family. No one saw or heard as they were all acres away from the crime. He was tossed into the cart with us, and he curled up in the corner crying as we left his home. Although I’m sure his family did report him missing and did try to find him, we were long gone. Finny never gave up hope, that we would be rescued or that someone would report the kidnapping to the police… it never happened though, no one saw us and the majority of us were sold willingly to these men. Every time we left a location, it was in the dead of night, and the carts were covered, that way no one could see what cargo they had. We were carted around all over England, until one fateful day we had to leave a safe house early. Someone passing by witnessed all of us being loaded into carts and covered with tarps, so they reported it to the police. Giving detailed descriptions of what they saw, so the police were sent to investigate the abandoned barn. Only to find a few dead children, rotting in the middle of the floor. It looked as if they had died of natural causes, but that was far from the case. Every child five or older were experimented on, and that’s how those kids died.

“The men didn’t stop their pattern, and I felt nothing but despair every night when all the older kids would stumble into the room, covered in blood, and other stains I didn’t recognize. Finny somehow remained cheerful, no matter what they did to him, he managed to keep up his constant hope. It was so strange, how he was being tortured every night, but he never stopped smiling. I expressed my misunderstanding to him and asked why he hadn’t given up, unlike every other child that was taken by these men.

“He looked me dead in the eye and said the strangest thing I’d ever heard, “You know, your despair makes me hope even more, that we’ll escape, or that someone will find us, or that the men will be arrested for child trafficking… no matter what we’ll get out, this isn’t a permanent situation” his voice was scratching from screaming in pain, but he sounded so sure.

“How can you be so sure? Don’t you think that it’s foolish to think like that, Finny?” I thought that might deter him, but it didn’t.

He sat up and put a gentle hand on my head saying “Maybe it is, but I believe that if you let yourself feel helpless than you are.”

“That was the night I started looking up to him as if he were my big brother because he remained strong no matter how bad things got. I even started calling him big brother, because it kept him going when he was exhausted.

“My birthday started approaching fast and the only reason I was even aware of it, was because I would then start being experimented on. I had to mentally prepare myself for it when I could barely handle being tattooed. We left the most recent safe house, and everyone was specifically sorted for some reason. We were covered in tarps as usual, but I managed to find a peephole to look out when I felt crowded. After a full week of traveling, we came to a new location just outside of a very busy town, but there were four new men, in lab coats, waiting to greet our captors. As soon as the carts stopped one of our captors approached the men waiting.

“It’s been awhile doc” he greeted, not sounding very pleased with seeing this doctor again.

“How many have you brought us?” the doctor asked, skipping over the pleasantries.

“We always go over price first” was his gruff “kiddies ain't cheap, ya know.”

“How about £5 per child?”

“When’d ya get so tight?”

He sighed, clearly upset with his bluntness, “fine £10 per child, but that's my final offer”

He nodded in agreement, taking his hand to shake on the arrangement, “always a pleasure doing business with you. We brought you 300 more children. They're all wonderful candidates for the new drugs.”

“You've been busy, how long did it take you to collect that many?” the doctor sounded impressed with the number of kids being sold to him.

“Two years” he pulled out a cigarette “the brats that are old enough to be used for your tests have been prepped. There are a few that will be turning five within a couple days, they’ll need to be prepped. Best of luck to ya, doc.”

“I could barely believe what I was hearing, all the terrible things that had been done to the older children was just in preparation for the real experiments. I felt sick just listening to the conversation, knowing that all the agony that Finny went through was for nothing. Everything was about to get so much worse when I was convinced it absolutely couldn’t get worse. I watched in pure shock as the tarps were removed to show the new test subjects to the doctors. The one who’d made the negotiations peered down into our cart, and smirked in satisfaction. We were all dragged out of the carts, into the large laboratory. There were tons of other children, I saw someone dumping bodies into a furnace to burn the evidence. As we were led up a level, I heard another child screaming in pain. It was quickly silenced, but I'll always remember the pure agony of the sound. We were sorted out and put into rooms, and as soon as the heavy metal door closed I collapsed on the floor. There was no point in crying, I knew that but it didn’t stop the tears from falling freely and they wouldn’t stop. Finny knelt next to me and pulled me close, trying his best to cheer his little sister up. Eventually, after crying for so long I exhausted myself and fell asleep, in a pure white room being held.

“Things were different when I woke up… that’s an understatement, I wasn’t even in the same room anymore. I was bound to a cold metal table, it was so bright that it was hard to see, there were all sorts of tools on the counter nearby. I knew what would happen in this room, that preparation for experimentation would begin because that day was my fifth birthday. A man in a lab coat walked into the room, reading something on a sheet of paper, he set it on a desk in the corner of the room.

“S-007,” he said when he noticed that I was awake.

“My name is Lucinda” I kept my eyes on the ceiling, not wanting to show this man any fear.

He chuckled “as far as your family is concerned you’re dead, so no you’re not Lucinda. You are just S-007.”

I tensed at the mention of my parents, those heartless monsters that sold me, then I laid back and said: “I don’t care what you call me, so long as I die in the process.”

“Do you think death is the end of suffering?” he asked, “The pain you felt when you die will never go away, and it will continue to torment you in hell.”

“He walked over to me, and put a scalpel to my throat, letting the blade slowly sink into my skin. I didn’t react to the pain, just continued to stare at the ceiling. I knew that he wanted me to scream, and he wanted me to understand he’s in complete control over me. What he didn’t know was that the restraints weren’t able to hold down my skinny arms, so I just grabbed his wrist. This surprised him, and he dropped the scalpel, stumbling back. I used it to cut off the restraints and got up, twirling the tool he’d just given me. I walked over to him, and he threw some pliers, hitting me in the gut with them. I grabbed my stomach, and he grabbed my neck, starting to choke me to death. I stabbed him in the eye with the scalpel, being dropped abruptly onto the floor. I watched as he pulled it out, along with his eye, screaming in pain the whole time. I picked up a different scalpel and stabbed him in the neck with it.

“I removed it, watching the blood gush from his neck, and some erupted from his mouth onto the floor, I stepped back to watch the light fade from his eye. I had enough, these doctors have done more than enough experiments on other children like me. Most of them had died, feeling helpless, and all of it ending in complete agony. I started to walk out of the room, when another doctor walked into the room, seeing his dead colleague, and I covered in blood holding a scalpel. This was the one who’d made the negotiations with our previous captors, he must’ve been in charge of this operation. He walked over to me, remarkably calm, and grabbed a handful of my hair lifting me off the ground. I struggled against his hold, only making it hurt more. He smirked, watching me struggle, planning his next move, then he slapped me with his other hand.

“I knew that you would be perfect for these experiments, S-007” he spoke, sounding so calm and collected.

“He threw me against the table, making me drop my weapon. I lay there, my heart and head pounding, and blood dribbled from the corner of my mouth. The doctor walked over and picked up the scalpel from the floor, taking it to the sink and washing off the blood. I lay there staring at the table, feeling helpless… then I remembered what Finny told me. The doctor walked back over to the table and put the scalpel just below my collar bone, using it to rip my dress in half.

“It’s a shame you woke up, now you’ll have to be awake through the whole procedure” he muttered, “children are so annoying when they’re scared.”

“How silly you think that you’ll be continuing your procedure doctor” I spat back, grabbing his wrist before he could begin cutting into my skin.

“I dug my nails into his flesh, slowly, watching the blood seep from the five wounds. His eyes went wide, as I removed my nails from his arm he recoiled, tripping over his colleague. I heard metal hit the ground, I sat up and walked over to him, picking up the blade he’d dropped. The doctor grabbed my throat with his uninjured hand, throwing me back again. I hit the side of the table, this time I didn’t stay down, I got right back up. I walked over and drove it into his stomach, aggressively cutting it open from deep inside. This time I didn’t stay to watch his end trails fall from his body, walking out of the room, heading to go free the other children. Yet, when I stepped out, I didn’t know where I was or where to find the others. I started running, panicked that someone else would find their bodies, and warn everyone in the facility.

“I finally found my way to the stairs and ran up them as fast as my legs could carry me. When suddenly something pulled me back and I fell to the bottom of the stairs again. I coughed up more blood and looked up the stairs to see another doctor standing there. He walked down the steps slowly, and I shakily stood up, not ready to let someone else get in my way and stop me from rescuing Finny. He kicked me back down, and grabbed my arm, picking me up.

“I think you’re a little lost, sweetheart” the way he spoke that one word sounded so vile, I nearly vomited in disgust.

“He reached out to grab my other arm when he noticed my weapon firmly grasped in my hand. Which didn’t give me a chance to stab him, as he dropped me on the floor. I got up, and looked up at him, ready to do whatever it took to get everyone out of this place.

“Get out of my way… and I’ll let you live” my threat didn’t hold much weight, as I sounded exhausted.

The man started laughing as he once again kicked me, across the floor “You honestly think I’m afraid of you!?”

“I didn’t let him keep me down, once again getting up on shaky legs and looking at him. He walked towards me and grabbed the wrist not holding the scalpel, pulling me off the ground yet again.

I couldn’t help the smirk that spread across my face “Big mistake”

“He barely had a chance to look at me before I drove the blade into his jugular, as he fell to the floor; I watched him bleed out, before starting up the stairs again. I managed to reach the top, limping my way down the hall I opened every single door. Realizing the thousands of children that were trapped in this awful place, but I couldn’t find Finny. I made my way to the stairs watching as all hell broke loose in the facility, the doctors overwhelmingly outnumbered by their test subjects. Some kids opened the doors, and everyone ran out of the laboratory, except me and Finny.

“I walked back to the testing rooms and looked in every one of them to see if he was there, all I found was a doctor cleaning up after an experiment. A boy with blond hair, laying in a heap on the floor, he looked like Finny… and he looked dead. Rage and adrenaline filled me as I charged into the room, toward the man cleaning his equipment, he moved out of the way. He grabbed my scalpel with the pair of pliers he’d been cleaning, forcibly taking it from me.

“This is not something that a child should be playing with” he tossed it aside, grabbing the remains of my dress, “I’ll have to take you back to your room now, S-007.”  
“I struggled against his hold as he started dragging me out of the room, away from who I thought was Finny. Tears welled in my eyes, as I thought everything that I had done was absolutely pointless, that my big brother was dead. The doctor came to a halt when he realized the door was wide open, and the children had all gotten out. He lifted me off the ground and slammed me against the metal of the door. My head throbbed from the force, and I barely managed to keep conscious, as he started talking.

“You managed to free all our subjects, except the boy I was working on. I assume you went back for S-020, instead of escaping? That was very stupid of you, now you two will be our only subjects until we manage to get everyone else back.”

“My heart sank when I heard the number, that wasn’t Finny his number is S-012, that meant I hadn’t escaped when I had the chance. I only hoped that my big brother was safe if anyone deserved to get out it was him. I didn’t fight him, as I normally would have, instead, I mentally prepared myself for death, my body felt so weak and tired.

“Outside I heard someone yelling, calling out to me, and I recognized it as Finny’s voice. He was trying to find me, so I had to go to him before it was too late. I moved quickly, grabbing the doctors' throat and digging my nails in. Choked screams sounded as he coughed up blood, but he still didn’t drop me, so I used my other hand to dig my nails right into the center of his chest. I didn’t know how deep they would go, but he fell back, finally letting go of me. I ran outside as fast as my legs would carry me, listening to my big brother calling out for me.

“When I got out to where I had heard him, I saw that some of the kids had been caught, and thrown into a cart, Finny was one of them. I started running toward the cart, quickly trying to catch up, but they were already leaving the now compromised location, and I couldn’t keep up. I ran until my already exhausted body gave out, falling to the ground in the middle of nowhere, completely and utterly alone.”

Abberline set his beaker down on the coffin-shaped coffee table, clearly taking in the whole story “After all that, you weren’t reunited with Finny?’

“No” Lucinda smiled sadly, picking up one of the bone biscuits “he may be dead, and I would never even know.”

“I heard there’s a boy at the Phantomhive mansion named Finnian,” Fred told her as he stood up, “well, thank you for your time miss Lucinda.” With that, the inspector left.

Lucinda felt shocked just at the mention of Finny, that he might still be alive, that he might even be in London. She dropped everything, closing the shop to run to Phantomhive manor, and hopefully be reunited with her big brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it to the end, thank you for reading. Maybe leave me a comment or kudos, please? (I live for feedback).


	3. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A commotion in the garden leads Sebastian to meet Lucinda, and learn of her strange connection to Finnian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a really short chapter, mostly because I didn't want to have to go through the reunion and telling both their stories within the same chapter. It's a bit rushed, and there's like a micro-hint to SebaCiel... I'll consider writing a SebaCiel fic one day. When my middle school trauma wears off and I feel like I can actually write anything decent again.

Sebastian pushed the tea cart down the hallway, it was time for his masters afternoon tea. Today had been relatively quiet, and there were no interesting cases the queen had assigned to her guard dog yet. Knocking on the heavy wooden door, he opened it and walked into the room once his master told him to enter. There were a few stacks of paperwork evenly distributed among his large desk, and Ciel was scribbling away with his favorite fountain pen. Sebastian pushed the cart in, explaining what tea and cake he'd baked for him this afternoon, black tea with milk and honey to reduce his stress. Ciel didn’t acknowledge this comment but did give a wanting glance at the Victoria sandwich cake sitting on the cart.

“Have you been getting your work done this afternoon, young lord?” Sebastian asked casually, hoping to remind his master to stay on schedule.

Ciel sighed, setting his pen down “Yes, I’m nearly done with what needed to be done today.”

The butler smiled brightly setting the teacup on his desk along with a tray of letters, before slicing him a piece of cake, “Excellent, we won’t have to push anything to tomorrow then.”

“Is tomorrow special?” he picks up the teacup, looking at his butler curiously.

The smirk on said butlers face read all kinds of mischief, “Not tomorrow, but tonight is,”  he winked after saying that his red eyes glinting as he set the plate next to the tea.

Ciel couldn’t exactly stop himself from blushing at the comment, but quickly drank the tea to hide it. There were no further comments from Sebastian as he left the room, intent on checking on the others and the simple chores he had assigned them this morning. Even those four couldn’t mess up such simple tasks… or so he’d hoped. Heading for the kitchen was delayed by a very loud crash in the garden, so he abandoned checking on Bard to see what Finny had just done. Swiftly going out the garden where the boy was helping someone up, asking if they were okay.

A young woman, wearing a rather plain dress, had apparently been hit by a log Finny had tossed in her direction. Sebastian sighed at his carelessness and approached the two “Are you alright, ma’am?”

Taking one look at Sebastian she stood up on her own and rolled her shoulders back, clearly trying to hide any weakness from before “I’m fine.”

“May I ask why you’re on the Phantomhive property? I didn’t think we’d scheduled any visitors today” Sebastian had to be polite, as she was a lady and the Phantomhives were known for hospitality.

“I’m here to find someone, Finnian,” she said confidently “I have no interest in seeing Lord Phantomhive.”

Someone asking for Finnian was very odd, trespassing to see the gardener, when he looked at the boy in question he looked lost. As if he were seeing a ghost, he got up and stared directly at the girl, trying to collect his obviously scattered thoughts.

“Lucinda?” he asked, quietly.

The young woman looked at him with a nearly identical expression, and tears welled in her eyes as she threw her arms around Finny “big brother!”

Both of them stood there, hugging as if this wasn’t real and at any moment one of them would just vanish into thin air. Sebastian had never heard Finny talk about having a sister, and they didn’t even look alike. Things weren’t adding up in his mind, he’d have to question them once they’d finished this little reunion.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” they said it at the same time as they let go and laughed at the moment of unison thinking.

Lucinda looked at Sebastian “I’m assuming he’s the one who rescued you?”

“Yeah… it’s a long story…” the usually jovial gardener looked sad thinking about his past.

She put a hand against his cheek giving a sad smile “mine is too.”

Sebastian cleared his throat to gain their attention “If you two would like some time to catch up I can accommodate you in the kitchen.”

“Does that mean cake?” Finny asked, excitement replacing his sad look.

Lucinda smiled sweetly “that would be lovely.”

The three of them headed inside to the kitchen, where Bard was peeling potatoes for lunch, he looked up scolding Finny for bringing his dirty gloves into the kitchen. The gardener removed them and set them outside of the kitchen before washing his hands. Lucinda sat down at the table, while Sebastian retrieved the cart from earlier, preparing tea and cake for all of them. Mey-Rin wandered into the kitchen to ask about the commotion in the garden and was very excited to fawn over their guest.

All of them settled down at the table, and Lucinda looked to Finny “I assume they want to know how we know each other?”

He nodded, looking to the other three occupants of the small table “Lucinda and I were victims of child trafficking.”

It was so blunt, that even Sebastian was taken aback by the statement, he’d known about the experiments done to Finny, but he had no idea about the trafficking.

“Wait, really?” Bard asked his cigarette falling from his mouth in shock

Mey-Rin gasped “I’m so sorry Finny.”

“Ho ho ho…” Tanaka sounded less cheerful, but it was hard to tell what he meant.

“Why does she call you big brother?” Sebastian asked casually.

Lucinda chuckled, stabbing her cake “It’s really stupid, but it’s because he gave me hope when there was nothing but despair around us.”

“I did not,” Finny said modestly “I only said some kind things to you when you were down.”  
“Don’t diminish your actions,” she said “You were like a ray of sunlight in pure darkness”

“That sure sounds like Fin” Bard commented, “always so happy.” Mey-Rin and Tanaka nodded in agreement.

“How did you get separated?” Sebastian asked.

“I couldn’t escape fast enough after Lucinda freed us all” Finny said, “So I was tossed into a cart with a few other kids to be taken to another lab.”

“I couldn’t catch up to the cart,” Lucinda said, “I was already tired, my body had no more adrenaline or energy, so I passed out after trying to catch up to him.”

“I didn’t know you chased the cart” Finny took her hand, clearly looking concerned “did the other men find you? Did they hurt you?”

She pursed her lips, before looking down “... I killed them”

The statement lay heavy on the room, and even Finny looked shocked at her confession.

“I was scared, and they attacked me so I just… reacted” she let go of his hand, looking into the dark depths of the teacup “that’s why I was so tired. I’d fought four different men and only won out of determination to escape with you. It was all just an adrenaline high, which ended when I saw you being taken away, again.”

“What happened after you passed out?” Finny persisted.

“As I said it’s a really long story, depending on how much you want to know” she sighed heavily, looking at the others sitting at the table with them. All of whom seemed awfully content to just watch and listen, especially Sebastian. Looking back to Finny, she saw how genuinely happy he looked, it was clear that he’s very comfortable with the people here.

“I’ll start from when I lost sight of the cart’ Lucinda said, and Finny took her hand, nervous and excited at the same time, “if you tell me what happened to you first.”

A deep sigh left him as he looked at the table “I’m pretty sure you know what happened.”

“More experimenting?” she squeezed his hand in a comforting way.

He nodded “I was given inhuman strength with some new drug. That’s how I was able to throw that big log earlier… it hurt. My muscles burned for days after the serum was injected into me, after going outside, I could barely move.”

Not wanting to hear another word about the agony her big brother went through, Lucinda just pulled him into a tight hug. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Sebastian cleared his throat, to get their attention.

“Miss Lucinda, I believe it’s your turn to tell your story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, if you made it to the end of the chapter. Leave a comment or kudos. Have a wonderful day you beautiful creature.


	4. Dragged Through the Mud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucinda shares the rest of her story, of all the terrible things she's been through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, I know there's no one reading this but I feel bad for not updating for awhile. This chapter took me forever to write, and for some reason both times I tried to post it, it wouldn't upload. It was really weird, but it's here now, and I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> There is underage rape in this chapter, so if that triggers you I strongly advise you don't read this chapter. Even though it is short and not very detailed I know it's important to warn people. If you do read the full chapter, enjoy, and let me know how to improve.

“It all started when I woke up, I had no idea where I was, there was no one around that I could go to for help. I got up, pulled the remains of my dress closed, and started walking away from the laboratory. I didn’t care where I ended up, as long as it was far away from that lab and the bodies rotting there. After walking such a long distance all the way to the closest town I was tired, cold, and hungry. I hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours, and my stomach wouldn’t stop reminding me of this fact. I collapsed in an alleyway, vomiting up nothing but stomach acid. 

“People passing by on the busy street ignored me, as I tried to regain any strength my body had. My clothing barely kept me warm, and in that alleyway, it felt much colder than it actually was, especially when it rained. Sitting in that one spot for days, I was convinced this would be my end, I would die alone. That is until someone passing by dropped a roll in my lap, I was so shocked that I ate it without any thought. That was the best bread I’d ever tasted in my life, and whoever that kind stranger was saved my life.

“I became a bit more proactive in trying to find food and water, I even found a better spot, with a box lid to keep me somewhat dry during rainstorms. People in that area were a lot kinder, especially since I never begged for anything. Everything was fine, I managed to live out there for six years. Until a man approached me, he knelt down across from me clearly very well off. His white suit now dirty from sitting down in the alley. He didn’t even introduce himself to me, just asked what my name was and how old I was.

“My name is Lucinda” I didn’t tell him my age as he had no need to know “who are you?”

He smiled so sweetly and introduced himself “My name is Aleistor Chamber. I’d like to help you out, no child should have to be out here on the streets.”  
“I’m hardly the only child on the streets” I responded calmly.

“My, my what venomous words” he reached out and brushed hair out of my face “I try to help anyone I can, my dear.”

“You can help me by leaving me alone” I pushed his hand away “I won’t be used for your personal gain.”

“Why do you assume I wish to use you? I simply want to help you.”

“He was so persistent, and even though I felt it was a bad idea, I finally agreed to go with him. He took me to his large estate, having one of his many maids lead me to a bedroom. I was given a new dress and then taken downstairs to the dining room, where Aleistor was waiting for me.

“You look simply beautiful, like a raven,” he said, taking my hand and twirling me in the all too fancy dress.

“Thank you, sir” I was clueless about what else to say “Although, this dress is a bit much for a street rat like me.”

“Erase such horrid thoughts from your mind this instant, my raven. You are not a street rat, and you will never have to see yourself that way again whilst living with me” Aleistor was so dramatic, that I was rendered speechless.

“Living with you? I thought you were just helping me tonight” I pulled my arm away from him.

“We can discuss the details over dinner, my sweet” he walked over to the clearly oversized dining table and pulled a chair out for me, just to the right of his seat.

“I took my seat, and stared at the beautiful silverware, shocked by how spotless everything was. Then a man walked into the room carrying a tray with something that smelled amazing. Aleistor seemed more intent on watching me eat than eating his own food. It was strange, but I thought he was appalled by what a slob I was. After dinner, he looked at me with that same sweet smile.

“Did you enjoy your meal, sweet raven?” he asked, politely.

I simply nodded, taking a sip of water.

“Shall we discuss your living here now?”

“I never agreed to living here, Aleistor” I looked at him “I don’t appreciate being lied to”

I’ll never forget the smirk that spread across his face “Oh, but I didn’t lie to you, Lucinda. I simply said that I would help you. I never went into specifics of what helping you would mean. If you’re sure you’d rather continue to live out on the streets never knowing when your next meal will come, I’ll let you leave.”

“Why on earth would you let someone that you don’t even know live with you?”

“I’m lonely,” he said, trying to gain my sympathy.

“What about all your servants? Don’t they keep you company?”

“Hardly, they’re too busy to keep me company.”

“... what are your conditions for letting me live here?”

Again that smirk, that screamed danger “let me show you.”

“He stood and started walking, I waited for a moment before I followed him upstairs. I was terrified thinking about where he could possibly be taking me. Then he leads me into the bedroom his maid had taken me to earlier. Closing the door behind me, he promptly pinned me to the wall, holding my wrists above my head. I struggled to try to kick him, but the tight dress kept my legs from lifting very high.

“There’s no need to be afraid, lovely raven” he leaned closer to me, whispering against my lips “the only thing I require from you is your body as payment.”

“With that he pressed his lips to mine, not allowing me to respond to his demand. I continued to struggle and when he tried to force his tongue into my mouth I bit it. He moved back stunned but smirked and used one hand to start unbuttoning the dress.

“You’re quite spirited” he commented, kissing my jaw and neck “I like it”

“Stop it! Get off me!” I kept struggling.

“He sighed and used the hand that was unbuttoning the dress to slap me, hard. I looked at him, terrified, and only saw him smiling at the apparent fear in my expression. He stroked my other cheek before pulling the skirt of the dress up and getting even closer to me. I tried to kick him, but he stepped on my feet, rendering me unable to move. Tears streamed down my face as he kissed them away, saying how beautiful I looked, and how lucky he was to have found me.

“He dragged me to the bed and tied my wrists together before tossing me onto the bed face down. He pulled my skirt up, and I heard his trousers being undone and dropping to the floor, soon my underwear was removed.  I continued to struggle, and I screamed when I felt him enter my unprepared body. He covered my mouth with his still gloved hand, telling me to be quiet, or I might wake his staff. I couldn’t stop crying, the pain was unbearable, and it didn’t get better as he started to move. Thrusting at a relentless pace, I kept screaming around his hand.

“You’re so tight,” he said smugly “here I thought you’d be another common whore. What a lovely surprise, you just get better by the second, lovely raven.”

“My response was muffled, so he didn’t hear me tell him to go to hell. He didn’t slow down, just kept his brutal pace, until he pulled out, cumming on my backside. Releasing me at last, he redressed, and cleaned me up, before untying my wrists. I was too tired to try and fight back, and without another word, Aleister started walking out of the room.

“Sleep well, lovely raven,” he said, before closing the door.

“I lay there, tired and in absolute agony, honestly wishing that I had died all those years ago. That Aleister had never found me, and that I wasn’t stupid enough to accept his help. I couldn’t stop myself from crying even more than I had during the horrible ordeal. I fell asleep, as crying had taken what little energy I had left. 

“The next morning I awoke to find a note on the nightstand, and a dress laid out on the dresser:  _ Good morning, lovely raven. I hope you slept well, I’ll be gone most of the day so feel free to rest until I return. I look forward to seeing you tonight, Aleisteor. _

“Clearly he was stupid if he expected me to stay, so I got up ignoring my sore bodies protests. I went to the closet where I took the closest thing to a practical dress that I could find. After changing I made a hasty retreat, not wanting to ever think about Aleistor ever again. I found a new spot, closer to the docks, and was surprised by how different everyone in this area was. Most of the hard-working fishermen were willing to give me food when they had enough to spare. It was the best I could hope for living on the streets, despite the storms being worse and harder to hide from and the overwhelming amount of drug addicts in the area.

“One night while I was trying to find some kind of shelter from a wild storm that had started when suddenly there was an umbrella placed over my head. A Chinese man with a beautiful woman clinging to his side standing under a different umbrella over their heads, they were waiting for me to take the object. I took it from him, finally covered from the rain.

“Thank you, sir,” I said a bit awkwardly, I didn’t even know if he spoke English.

“You’ll catch a cold out in this weather, it’s the least I can do” the woman at his side nodded in agreement, before she whispered something in his ear, “I hadn’t even thought of that Ran-Mau. You could come spend the night with us.”

“I was very suspicious of his offer, considering what happened the last time someone offered to help me. I turned them down thanked them, and went back to my spot for the rest of the night, now a little better sheltered from the storm. It rained all night, it was freezing cold I barely slept, usually waking up from nightmares about Aleistor. Every crack of thunder reminded me of the creaking mattress, and sitting there I felt helpless to the invasive memories. I hadn’t thought about what happened since I left his home, but that man who’d offered me a place to stay dug up what I had been suppressing. I couldn’t stop the panic from taking over my mind, and I couldn’t keep my emotions buried anymore. I pulled my knees to my chest and cried until it wore my body out.

“The bright daylight shone through the umbrella, the clouds cleared by the time I had woken up. I was surprised that no one had stolen the umbrella, but I pushed this thought aside and just closed it. Only to see the man who’d given it to me, and the same woman in his lap, sitting across from me. I jumped back, only hitting the wall and hurting my head. 

The man laughed “Oh dear did we scare you? I’m sorry.”

“I’m assuming you want this back?” I held out the umbrella

“No, I just came to make sure you were alright, it was quite a storm last night” the woman nodded in agreement.

“Oh…” this was odd, to say the least, I hadn’t expected him to ever give any thought to me again “thanks to you I probably won’t get sick.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, you were soaked to the bone when we found you”

“Right, well it won’t be as bad now” I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly

“I never introduced myself” he held out his hand “my name is Lau, and this lovely lady is Ran-Mau.”

I took his hand and shook it “My name is Lucinda.”

“I’d imagine you’re starving by now, would you like to join us for lunch?”

“Again this made me wary of his potential intentions, he was right though and my stomach growled in response. Ran-Mau clearly noticed this as she stood up and held out her hand to me as if she knew I wouldn’t accept the offer from Lau. I took her hand and she pulled me off the ground, with a genuine smile that I felt was trustworthy. Lau stood up as well, and without any more discussion, we walked off to a nearby restaurant. 

“How did you end up on the streets, Lucinda?” Law asked once we were seated.

“I’ve never had a real home” I shrugged “my parents are most likely dead, and they were so poor that they sold me for money.”

“I see” he sighed ‘it’s such a shame, I don’t know why anyone would sell a child.”

“People do it all the time, children are money pits”

“Not if you love them enough”

“Love won’t buy things”

“I’ve never met such a young pessimist” he chuckled.

I took a sip of the water given to us before responding “When you’ve been through what I have, it’s nearly impossible to find a reason to be optimistic.”

“How old are you?” he asked, resting his head on his arm.

“11” I crossed my arms “why do you want to know?”

“It’s sad to me that you’re so pessimistic at such a young age, you should be enjoying your youth,” he sighed, Ran-Mau nodded in agreement.

“After our food came we ate in relative silence, it seemed as if he was thinking, silently figuring out how to bring up the next point of conversation. I didn’t expect much more than questions about how I had ended up in this place and like Aleistor offering help.

“Would you like to get off the streets?” he asked, finally.

I looked at him a bit surprised at the directness of his question, “Of course I would, but it’s nearly impossible to do that without money or a job. No one is willing to hire a street rat, let alone a woman, and you can’t earn money without one.”

“I could help you with the job,” he smiled once again resting his head on his hand “, unlike other employers I don’t have many barriers to who I hire.”

It was easy enough to figure out what that meant, I leaned back in my seat and simply asked “drugs or prostitution?”

This clearly shocked him, he most likely hadn’t expected me to pick up on what he was saying so easily. Ran-Mau spoke while he remained silent, her calm monotone voice not what I had expected from such a cute girl “Both. Our den is one of pure pleasure.”

“I’m against the latter” I stated stiffly “what would you have me do?”

“I need someone who knows London better than I do, who knows where the street rats seeking refuge hide,” Lau said, in an oddly calculating tone “and most people would respond better to a cute face.”

I couldn’t help myself from prickling at this, but his offer of a job seemed… stupid to refuse. I thought it over for a minute before asking “How much would you pay me?”

“£2 a day,” he said, “as I’m sure you know it is quite a lucrative business.”

“I was absolutely floored by this, he was offering pounds, I didn’t think about it as I most likely should have. I reached out my hand and told him it was a deal, he took it and we agreed that I would start the next day. Over the next week, I became more familiar with the back alleys of London, no longer navigating to find the best possible begging spot. Instead to find those poor souls addicted to opium, telling them that Lau had pure opium from China. It was easy for me to convince them to spend their minuscule amount of money on the promise of their best high since the first. Addicts were ripe for the picking all over, and based on my success I started targeting more than just the homeless. Those I knew could spend money on drugs and prostitutes, they were the true challenge for me, most turned me down. Rumors spread through their social circles, in a way I never expected it to, and eventually men looking for debauchery came to find me.

“I was so happy to find something I could do, a way to get off the streets, and Lau was kind enough to let me live in the den until I had enough money for my own home. I worked for him for three years, luring men into Lau’s trap, and then he asked me to do more than just bring people to the den. 

“You know Lucinda you could make a lot more money serving the customers here,” he’d mentioned before I went back out on the streets.

I looked at him “doing what?”

“Keeping the customer's company, like Ran-Mau” he explained “offer them more, talk to them, sit next to them or even in their lap, maybe even offer them to take one of the girls to the back. Make them feel comfortable.”

“I had to really think it over, and told him to give me some time to think about it before I decided. I would be making more money now, but I worried that he might push me to my breaking point. I just had to keep thinking of the end goal, my own home, even if I still had to work for Lau. Saving money for a home had proven to be a lot more difficult, as Lau had failed to tell me that staying in the den would cut into my income. Along with buying food, clothes, and other necessities I barely had enough money for a bed, nowhere near enough for my own apartment. Three years of bringing in customers, was clearly not getting me anywhere, so after considering things I agreed to the offer.

“The very next day I got into the dress the other girls wore, trimmed my nails and let Ran-Mau style my hair. I didn’t feel like myself, but I carried on, pulling on the black stockings and heading out into the den with the other girls. Lau was bringing in a new shipment, humming to himself as he prepared for the customers to come. When he saw me, I saw his smile widen that I was going through with his request. It sent a chill up my spine, and I should’ve taken the chance to change my mind then and there. 

“I felt sick, sitting in the smoke-filled den, in the lap of a man I didn’t know. He was particularly grabby, and I kept having to remind him to stop. Lau was watching, I could tell, so I changed my approach, offering to find someone else willing to accompany him to the back. I got up and let another girl take over, sitting next to Lau until someone else needed me. I repressed any potential bad thoughts, or even thoughts of leaving with the thought of my own home. If I left I would be forced to live on the streets again with no other opportunities to earn money. Except prostitution, but I quickly shoved that thought out of my head that was completely out of the question.

“I had worked for Lau for I’m not sure how long it took, but I eventually got used to being in the smokey den all day with customers unwanted groping. I learned to keep my emotions hidden, focusing solely on earning money, and getting away from this place. Even after another year and a half of working, my goal still seemed out of my reach. Why was saving money so difficult? Could someone be stealing it, and delaying the already lengthy process. I tried to think of who could be stealing my money, trying to go through each girl and their potential motive for doing so. It didn’t make any sense, all of us were in similar situations, why would they take my money?

“The other girls would often talk and compare customers, something I couldn’t understand as I’d never had to take anyone to the back room. I did, however, have to clean it, since I was the only girl not having sex with customers. While cleaning up one particular day, I noticed Lau watching me from the doorway. I jumped back, ready to throw the dirty sheets at him.

“Did I startle you?” he chuckled.

I sighed “Yes, why were you watching me clean up?”

“I was just appreciating the view” he smirked.

“What do you mean?” I looked around the room, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

“Even now you’re still so innocent, sweet Lucinda” he walked over to me and lifted my head “although I’m positive it’s just an act, I can see through such things.”

“How do you mean?” 

“Well in all your time here you’ve never taken a man back here, clearly that’s intentional. No matter how comfortable you are sitting in their lap, letting them feel you, you never offer yourself up to them” he smirked, “I believe that’s because you’re saving yourself for a specific man to notice you.”

I shook my head “You’re way off the mark, Lau.”

“If that’s the case wouldn’t it be easier to just start taking them to the back? Wouldn’t it be nice to not be as degraded as you are out in the den?”

“I’ve told you before, I’m against prostitution” I set the dirty linens in the basket “It’s dehumanizing and indecent.”

“You’re missing out though” he came up close to me “don’t you wonder what pleasures you’ll miss?”

I shook my head “Not for a second.”

“What if I asked you to start working back here? To take just one customer, just to try it. See what you’re missing out on” he asked, still a little too close for comfort “You’d be compensated fairly for it, of course.”

I stepped away from him “I’ve already told you I’m not interested. It doesn’t matter how much you’re offering me, I will not prostitute myself out.”

“Why are you so firm on this?” he asked, his calculating eyes focused on me.

I sighed, hugging myself in a comforting way, all of my composure flew out the window when I had to talk about it “... Well, I just feel that… I’ve seen… I just… I… I… I was raped…”

He was silent after my admission, thinking of how to respond “Do you know the best way to overcome fear?”

“No” I looked up at him confused.

“To do it again,” he said, “if you fall down, you get right back up.”

“Yet my leg broke from the fall. Having sex again won’t erase my fear” I was very curt with my response, Lau was stepping over the one line I asked him not to cross. 

“Are you sure about that?” he started walking towards me, I stepped back trying to keep my space. My back hit a wall, and Lau was all too comfortable to get into my face, as he grabbed my hips. He leaned in close and kissed me, I didn’t return it, instead of struggling against his hold. Memories flashed through my mind, and then on instinct, I kicked him in the gut and ran as fast as I could out of that den. I didn’t know where I would end up, and at that point, I didn’t care. 

“Panic racked through me as I tripped, I got up as fast as I could and kept going. I could barely see through the tears rushing down my face, eventually the panic eased as I leaned against the wall in front of me. It was so quiet in this area, that the sounds of my dry heaving echoed, I took a few deep breaths before I started walking. I had left everything behind, and all the hard work was now completely worthless… but it didn’t matter, money had turned me into a terrible person willing to do almost anything. I fell to my knees, adrenaline replaced with exhaustion as I passed out in whatever dark alley I was in.

“I woke up, expecting to be in that alley, but I was in a completely different place. When I got up I realized it was a coffin, I looked around to see tons of coffins all around the room. I didn’t know what to think, I started to walk around, and pushed back a curtain that lead to an almost office space. There was no one there, so I went through the other curtain to find a small home, so I walked around trying to find someone. A man walked out of what I presumed to be a bedroom, carrying a book reading over it carefully. I’m not sure how he was able to see with such a long silver fringe covering his eyes, his head lifted and he saw me standing in the middle of his kitchen.

“Oh hello there’ he smiled and waved “I didn’t expect you to be awake already, then again I don’t know how long you were asleep.”

“Where am I?” I asked, curtly.

He snickered “my shop, the Undertaker’s shop.”

“I guess you’re the Undertaker?”

“That’s my name” he grinned.

I nodded and started to walk out “well thank you for letting me sleep here last night, I’ll be on my way.”

“Leaving so soon?” he sounded disappointed.

I looked back at him “I’m invading your home, and shop sir. Besides I’m fine on my own.”

“If you insist on leaving, at least let me give you some food” he walked over to me.

The last two times someone had given me food, it had ended badly so I moved away from him “No. I don’t need your charity.”

“You’ve really been through the mud, haven’t you?” he politely stepped away “don’t think I’ve ever met a street rat that wouldn’t jump at the opportunity of a meal.”

I sighed heavily “while I would appreciate it… it’s complicated.”

“Let me guess, someone lured you with food and abused your trust?” he’d clearly seen this happen before “it was Aleitor Chamber, wasn’t it?”

I tensed at his name, and that seemed to be all the confirmation that Undertaker needed.

“He does that to any poor young girl out on the street” he sighs “actually does it to upper-class girls too. It’s so terrible, I wish he could be arrested for his crimes.”

I stared at him, not knowing exactly what to say “Why did you even bring me into your shop?”

“Well I was going out for supplies, and when I opened the door you fell into my shop. I figured there was no harm in letting you sleep for a bit in one of me coffins.”

“My stomach growled and Undertaker started walking back into the kitchen. I waited for a moment, contemplating my options before I followed and sat down at his small table. He hummed to himself as he cooked, but I felt anxious just sitting there so I got up and offered to help. He was pleased to be offered help and gave me some potatoes and a knife.

“I never got your name,” he said after a moment.

“Oh right, my name is Lucinda” I responded casually while continuing to peel potatoes.

He nodded “Light.” I looked at him confused, and he smiled “Your name means light.”

“I guess my parents got that wrong,” I said going back to my task.

“He didn’t say anything about that, just continued cooking, I’m sure he could hear the resentment in my tone. The bitter way I referred to them as one entity instead of with the titles of mother and father made my feelings clear enough. Once the food was done we sat down and ate together at that tiny table, in a strangely comfortable silence. I ate, thanked him for the food and letting me rest in his shop, and then I left. He didn’t try to stop me as the other two helping hands would have, just told me I was welcome to come back if I ever needed anything. With that I set out to find a new spot, not going near the docks, or Aliestors’ hunting ground. I sat down once I found a new place, and watched the people pass by, a few men tried to proposition me, so I moved locations yet again. My clothes had to be why every man looking for a fix (which seemed to be, every man), kept asking me, I was still wearing the den uniform.

“Then, I found myself outside of Undertaker’s shop a few days later, he said to come back if I needed anything. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door, to see him working on a body. He looked up and grinned widely, closing the casket and going to wash his hands.

“Hello, Lucinda” he greeted as if I were an old friend.

“Hello,” I said a bit awkwardly

“Have a seat, I’ll make some tea” he grinned heading toward the back. I walked over and sat on one of the coffins. He looked back at me, clearly confused, “are you coming?”

“I looked up and proceeded to stand and follow him into the kitchen. I sat at the table just as I had the night he helped me. He stood by the stove as the water heated, preparing the teapot and two beakers.

“How do you usually drink yours?” He asked while putting things together

“I'm not sure I've only ever had it plain” I shrugged, trying to figure out how to ask for clothes. 

“He came over with the beakers, setting them down before pouring the tea in them. He set down a bowl of sugar and a bottle of milk. Then proceeded to dump a handful of sugar into the tea. I stared in abject horror at the sheer amount and how thick the liquid became. I took a cube and poured a little bit of milk in mine. To each, their own I thought, after taking a sip of perfection.

“So what brought you here today?” He asked, still stirring his abomination. 

I sighed heavily, muttering “clothes.”

“It is gettin’ real cold out there. I'll bet that skirt of yours hasn't done anything as far as warmth” he sounded so genuinely concerned it was… astonishing. Here, I was worried that he’d be upset that’s why I came to see him. I know he said anything, but he couldn’t have possibly meant anything. I tried to take in his kindness and admitted the real reason I needed clothes.

“And every man with a pulse keeps propositioning me,” I said with a deadpan expression and tone. That made him start laughing, with no barriers. It was so infectious I started laughing right along with him. We probably sounded like a couple of loons in an asylum. That didn't matter though, I hadn’t laughed in ages. There was never any reason to, not even with Lau, despite his best efforts.

“Brilliant,” he wiped a tear away from under his fringe “that delivery was perfect.”

“I couldn't help but smile at the compliment, I didn't think my face was capable of smiling this much. He stood up and walked off, I could hear rummaging from another room. I simply waited with piqued curiosity, when Undertaker returned.

“I found it!” He said victoriously, “after you've finished your tea you can change. We could even burn your current dress if you like.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” I watched him come back to the table, finally feeling courageous enough to ask him something that’s been on my mind since we met, “Undertaker, why have you been so kind to me? You barely know me, I’m just a street rat after all.”

He took a sip of the sludge he called tea, before answering “I believe that we all have a duty to be kind to others.”

“Isn’t being too kind a bad thing?”

“Not when they deserve it” he smiled “Good people often end up in bad places. We can’t fault them for that, can we?”

I sighed and finished my tea contemplating this “It’s nearly impossible to distinguish the bad people from the good.”

“Not so, dearie” he rested his head on his hand “if you’re trying to tell me you are a bad person.”

I shook my head “I’ve made too many bad decisions. There’s no way I can be a good person.”

“It’s only human to make mistakes, but you have to learn from them. Moping and wallowing in your misery certainly won’t fix anything” he said, “I had to learn that the hard way.”

“Undertaker, I can’t just change my life” I stood up “Although, I do appreciate your kind words.”

“With that, I went into the bedroom to change into the dress he’d found for me. I closed the door and finally changed out of the den uniform. I stared at the skimpy dress for a long time, thinking about all the other girls who have to sell themselves to customers. Setting the uniform down I change into the thick dress he’d found for me, and felt so warm. I also noticed there was a pair of shoes to go with it, apparently, he had seen that I only had the stockings to cover my feet, but I felt too ashamed to ask for more than a dress. When I was dressed I saw in the mirror that I looked like a lady. Not some street rat or even a prostitute, but a real lady… it felt odd. Not seeing a helpless little girl looking back at me, I suppose growing up had indeed changed me.

I walked back out to Undertaker, who upon seeing me fell silent, then he grinned “I’m glad it fits you so well… do you think you’ll be warm enough? Will you need a coat? My guests often leave their belongings behind so I could find one for you if you need.”

“There’s no need to trouble yourself” I walked over “I’d hate to take more from you than I already have.”

“It’s no trouble at all, besides it’s not at any expense to me. Families often leave the clothes their loved one died in here, I wash them, mend them and give them to those who need them” he stood up “stay here I’ll go get a coat for you.”

“I did listen to him, cleaning up the tea while he looked as a way of thanking him. It took awhile, long enough for me to have finished scrubbing the sludge out of his beaker. Then he came out of the bedroom with two coats draped over his arm. 

“Try them both, I don’t know which will fit better” he offered them out to me.

“I took them and did try them both, one of them was clearly a winters coat, it was a bit big on me, but it was better than it being too small. The other was thinner, and while it fit perfectly, I prefer the warm winters coat. I again thanked Undertaker for his extensive kindness, and left the shop, feeling warm. Not just physically, but deep within I felt warm after spending time with the Undertaker. The chilled air didn’t bother me now, and the ominous grey clouds stretched across the sky didn’t concern me as much as it would have before, it felt as if Undertaker had managed to warm my very soul. As I roamed the streets today I felt less out of place among the crowd, even though I was the only one looking for a spot to rest that would have reasonable shelter from the storm coming. A cold white spec landed on my nose, and I stepped out of the large crowd to look up as even more snow started to fall. The noise of the city started to die down as everyone else hurried to get inside, away from the snow, while I was finally seeing it for the first time. 

“I was snapped from my trance when I heard a boy calling out to strangers on the street, his mother following close behind and apologizing for him. His excitement over his birthday was very sweet, I felt envious of him, it was just a fleeting thought. Out of curiosity I followed the family, it was clear this was where upper class people shopped, so I was watching for Aleitor subconsciously. I followed the small family to a large manor, which I couldn’t enter, but I could see the estate from where I stood. It was like a perfect portrait, or a model in a snowglobe, either way it was a surreal beauty. The little boy would be celebrating with his mother and father, eating cake, opening presents, and reading stories. I thought of my parents, and what my life would be like if they hadn’t sold me. I stayed in that spot for far too long, before a bright light caught my attention.

“The manor, it was on fire, the whole thing was in the process of burning up. The boy! His parents! They’d all be dead within minutes. Then I saw it, a group of men, who I assumed to be firemen going into the manor. I watched intensely as they came back out carrying the boy, who was passed out, but the fire was still roaring. They weren’t there to stop the fire, they were there to kidnap the boy, what should I do? What could I do? I ran to the nearest police station, and told them what I saw, they came with me to the manor. By the time the fire was out, the estate was unrecognizable, and they told me there was no way any of the residents had survived the fire. They left, and I was left in that spot once again, I knew the boy was alive. There was no way I had imagined those men, or them carrying the poor boy off. Yet, at that point there was nothing I could do, so I went to the alley near Undertakers shop again, and thought about everything I had seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. The next chapter won't be so intense I swear... remember how in the first chapter I said Undertaker wasn't feeling well? I'll be going into that. I hope you stick around to read it and have a lovely day, or night. 
> 
> I'd appreciate some feedback, so if you feel so inclined to leave me a kudos or a comment. Thank you so much.


	5. Restlessness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undertaker has a cold and after divulging into her past, Lucinda has the even more exhausting task of taking care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I know this took forever because I'm really lazy and get depressed about my own writing before it's done. I mentioned this in chapter one, which I thought about going a different direction but I figured cute story about Lucinda putting up with clingy Undertaker would help offset the edgy tone I'd set in the other chapters.
> 
> I'll be getting into their actual relationship in the next chapter. I know it may feel rushed, but I figure starting their relationship right away will help me improve my character writing. Either way, I hope you enjoy this pure fluff because I need some good fluff in my life.  
> (Everything else is too edgy now).

“What happened after that?” Finny asked he sounded eager but concerned at the same time.  
“I went into Undertaker’s shop and told him what I’d seen, he comforted me and allowed me to stay the night,” I said, “There’s not much else to the story.”  
“Excellent” Sebastian said, “I believe these three need to get back to work now.”  
A small bell on the wall rang, and Sebastian instantly left to answer to his master. Mey-Rin stood up and left next, Baldroy got up and started working on something. Finny stood up and held out a hand to me, he pulled me to my feet and we left the kitchen. We walked out to the garden, he smiled brightly once we were outside in the sunlight.   
“I’ll walk you out” he offered “That way you don’t have to sneak over the fence again.”  
I chuckled “That sounds wonderful, big brother.”  
We walked down the long path, the garden was so large I wouldn’t be surprised if some people got lost in it. When we reached the gate I noticed how disappointed he looked that I had to leave, as if this were the last time I’d ever see him. I pulled him into a tight hug, he returned it and eventually we let go of each other.   
“I’ll be back to visit, I promise” I put a hand on his cheek.  
He put his hand over mine “Will the Undertaker let you?”  
“He’s not a monster Finny” I smiled “I get to come and go as I chose.”  
“I’ll have to come by sometime, to make sure he’s treating you right”  
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help smiling “Alright, goodbye big brother.”  
With that I walked away, taking the long walk into town and to Undertaker’s shop. I opened the door and jumped when I saw him sitting on the couch waiting for me. He grinned, even though he looked so pale still.  
“You shouldn’t be out of bed” I crossed my arms “How will you get better if you don’t let your body rest?”  
“Don’t worry so much” he waved his hand casually “We can’t just close up shop, because I’m sick.”  
“Yes we can” I walked over to him and placed a hand on his forehead, careful not to move his bangs too much, “You still have a fever Undertaker! Get back to bed right now!”  
He at least had the decency to look guilty (at least as far I could tell, it’s so hard to read expressions with half his face covered), as he got up and headed back into the bedroom. I locked the shop door, flipped the sign to say Closed, and followed to make sure he really did get to bed. He collapsed on the bed and pulled the duvet over himself, clearly feeling worse than he was letting on. I headed to the kitchen to make him some soup, he had taught me how to make his favorite soup, but it seemed we didn’t have all the ingredients. Trust him to get sick when we need more supplies, so I walked into his bedroom to get the shopping basket.  
“Going out again? Should I go tend to the shop?” he asked, sounding a bit groggy.  
“Don’t you dare” I shot a glare that would scare the devil himself “if I come back to find you out of bed there will be hell to pay Undertaker.”  
Without waiting for a response I left, with some money we had squirreled away. I still didn’t know where he got it from since he hates currency so much. Either way, I stopped questioning it and went into town to buy what we needed. When I returned I was pleased to see the sign still flipped, and Undertaker not sitting in the shop. I went into the kitchen, starting to put away what I had bought and started making the soup. I hummed to myself while chopping vegetables and waiting for the broth to heat up. Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind and I screamed ready to stab the person when I realized it was just Undertaker.  
“I told you to stay in bed!” I scolded “What if I had hurt you?!”  
“Sorry, dearie I just couldn’t stay away. Especially since I heard your sweet voice humming” He smiled, before sitting at the table, wrapped up in a blanket.  
I sighed and continued making the soup “It’ll be ready in a few minutes, it just has to simmer.”  
“Perfect,” he said, “come here.”  
I walked over to him not sure what to expect when he pulled me into his lap. I couldn’t help blushing as I asked: “Undertaker, what are you doing?”  
“You’re warm” was all he said, putting his head on my shoulder and closing his eyes.   
I sighed and wrapped an arm around him “Your bed is much warmer”  
“But it’s lonely in there” he pouted.  
He was acting like a child, was it just because he was sick? I had to pull myself away to get us both some soup. “This should help warm you up.”  
We ate in relative silence, aside from slurping and a few sniffles coming from Undertaker. He seemed happy just to be in the same room as me, perhaps that would help him fall asleep. Could we just leave the shop closed for the rest of the day? Of course, we could, it’s not like we could even except any guests since Undertaker was in no condition to be working on bodies. He finished the bowl and before he could get up for more I got up and dished for him.  
“Always so willing to take care of me, how’d I get so lucky?”  
“You aren’t lucky, besides I owe you for all the times you’ve taken care of me,” I stated matter of factly handing him his bowl, “Eat slowly, I don’t want you to throw it back up.”  
He chuckled, which turned into a coughing fit, so he used his blanket to cover his mouth. I sat back down and finished my own food, trying my hardest not to worry too much about him so much. Once he’d finished eating, he rested his head on his hand, keeping me company while I cleaned up. Usually, we took turns cooking and cleaning but while he was sick I was doing both.   
“Don’t you think you should head back to bed?”  
“I’m restless,” he complained, “I’ve been cooped up in there all day, I want to do something.”  
I sighed, “You’re not supposed to be doing things when you’re not feeling well.”  
“Will you come keep me company?”  
“Fine, but only if you promise to not get up for the rest of the afternoon,” I looked at him, “except for bodily needs.”  
He nodded in agreement.  
“Good, go wait in your room, I’ll be there in a minute.”  
With that Undertaker left heading into his room, wrapped up in his blanket. It was odd thinking how we’d come to this point. I’d come back to him after witnessing the fire of the Phantomhive manor, and the next morning we made a deal. A deal that would allow me to stay with him for nothing more than company and laughter. I’d been living with him for nearly two years now, and he somehow never managed to make me uncomfortable. Well, aside from the jumping out of coffins or using all the hot water when he bathes. There were small things like that, that still irritated me, but it was far nicer than any other living situation I’d been in before. Once I finished the dishes I walked into his room, where he was once again curled up under his mountain of blankets. I couldn’t help chuckling, he looked so cute, in a strange way. Pulling up a chair, I sat by his bed, he laid on his back so that his bangs wouldn’t fall off his eyes.  
“Will you tell me a story, Lucinda?”  
“I’m not very good at telling stories, Undertaker.”  
“That’s a lie.”  
“Do you have any requests?”  
“Tell me my story”  
“I don’t know your story”  
“I want you to guess.”  
I sighed and thought for awhile about what he meant by his story, he’d told me that he wasn’t able to tell me about his past, but never explained why. Now he expected me to just tell him what I thought he’d gone through? I thought for awhile about whether or not I should give in to his request, but I decided not to.  
“How about I tell you a funny story instead? I know how much you enjoy a good laugh,” I suggested as an alternative.  
“I’ll just end up coughing.”  
“I don’t know many stories.”  
“Then make one up, please,” he looked so tired, there’s a good chance he’d fall asleep before the story came to an end.  
“Alright,” I sighed, trying my hardest to think of a story that could relate to him, “A long time ago, there was a happy family who lived out in the country. They were known as the Creevans, and everyone knew them as one of the happiest families around. The youngest child was a bit peculiar though, his name was Adrian, and for the most part, he was quiet. To the point that he could be sitting in a room while others were talking and not notice him observing them. His siblings had grown tired of their brother being so sneaky, he had heard so many of their secrets, what if he had shared it with others? They decided that they would find a way to make it so their brother couldn’t sneak up on them anymore. The oldest came up with the first idea, which was to attach a bell to him, that way he couldn’t enter a room without being heard. The siblings set out to find little Adrain, who was outside drawing in the dirt with a stick. His older brother couldn’t sneak up on him, as Adrain heard the bell, and ran away before it could be attached to him. The next sibling thought of a better plan, telling his siblings they would have to learn Adrain’s secrets so that he couldn’t use their secrets to his advantage. When they went to search his room though, they found no dairy, and Adrain hardly ever spoke. They had nothing to use against him. Their only sister had paid attention to their plans and came up with an even better one, she approached Adrain without sharing her plan. Then she started tickling him, and the boy couldn’t help laughing, he struggled but his laughter rumbled the very foundation of their home. After that Adrain was no longer silent, as he made it his life’s goal to make everyone in the world experience the same happiness that laughter had brought him.  
I realized that Undertaker was snoring, I quietly got up and got a cold washcloth to put on his feverish forehead. I gently moved his bangs, placing the cool cloth on his forehead before moving his hair back into place. He looked so peaceful, a lot like his guests, perhaps it was just because he looked so very pale from his illness. I rested my head on his chest, the silence of the room had made me realize I was also tired. I couldn’t fight off the sudden surge of exhaustion, instead, everything went black.  
When I woke up, I found that I was tucked in Undertakers’ bed, and he was laying right next to me. It was nice, cozy, and very warm, but sharing a bed with someone who’s sick wasn’t a good idea, so I tried to sit up. Then his arm pulled me back down, and he scooted closer to me.  
“You promised you’d stay with me,” he was sounding better, I knew he needed to rest.  
“I’ll get sick if I stay in bed with you,” I protested fighting against his hold.  
“I’ll be cold if you leave,” he argued, managing to keep me in place without much effort.   
Eventually, I stopped fighting and stayed there, lying next to him, he let go of me once I had stopped struggling. I rolled on to my side so I was facing him, “Why have you been so clingy today?”  
He sniffled before reaching up to wipe his nose with his sleeve, “you’ve been gone all morning.”  
“That can’t be the only reason, you’re never like this when you aren’t sick,” I noticed his bangs moving away from his eyes when he turned his head, and his washcloth fell off.   
He caught the cloth, before looking at me with his bright green eye, “maybe I just want to have you around while my body heals.”  
I couldn’t exactly argue with that, being sick and alone was never pleasant. He shifted again, still looking at me, now concerned, “Am I making you uncomfortable? You can leave if that’s the problem, dearie.”  
“No, that’s not the case,” I sighed and placed a hand on his cheek, “I just worry that I’m doing a bad job as your caretaker since I’m not exactly helping you.”  
He chuckled and coughed a few times before taking my hand and using it to pull me closer, “You are helping me though. Helping keep me warm, helping keep me company, and allowing your mind and body to rest so you don’t worry yourself into a frenzy.”  
“A frenzy?” I quirked an eyebrow, not exactly sure what he meant.  
“You get so worked up over every little thing when I”m sick that you often forget to take care of yourself. You get so worked up that you often get sick while I’m still recovering.”  
“I…” I had to pause to consider the truth in what he was saying, then muttered: “I don’t mean to.”  
He chuckled, and coughed a few more times, before kissing my forehead, “just try to remember to take care of yourself as well, yeah?”  
I nodded in agreement to this one simple request. Both of us fell asleep, after this conversation, appreciating the warmth the other provides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. Leave a kudos, or a comment, if you really want to subscribe or bookmark to see how awful my writing schedule is.
> 
> Let me know if their relationship feels too rushed because I really just want to get to the good stuff. I can't promise weather next chapter will have smut or not. I think that'll be the slow build, but we'll see how things go while I'm writing. I'll try to keep myself from falling down the pit of edgy too much.


	6. At Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucinda comes to terms with her feelings for the Undertaker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live. I know it's been awhile since I updated this story. I knew that this would be the chapter where they finally confess love to each other but each time I wrote it I was never satisfied with it. It took forever to figure out why it wasn't coming together correctly, but I think this turned out great after giving it time.

“Undertaker, are you done with Ms. Millers coffin?” Lucinda asked from the office. They were still trying to catch up on the work they fell behind on while he was sick. Undertaker had no organization system at all, so sorting through the forms was a lot harder than it probably should’ve been. That’s why Lucinda was currently in the office going over the order forms for actual clients, since the nameless bodies who were constantly found on the streets were just buried in the coffins on hand.  
He looked over at her from the shop, “hm? Oh, right Ms. Miller… I believe I finished her coffin and I’m just waiting on the family to bring by the clothes they want her buried in.”  
“What about Mr. Johnson? Have you finished his coffin?”  
“Not yet, I’m working on the interior right now.”  
She nodded, setting the form into a pile, there were three piles, not started, working on, and finished, the system seemed to be helping immensely. It kept them on schedule so that the families wouldn’t have to change the funeral dates, or Undertaker wouldn’t have to stay up all night frantically finishing the work. There were just two more and Lucinda recognized the names as they were the most recent clients that had come in, so their coffins hadn’t been started yet. Setting the papers down on the not started pile she looked over to Undertaker, his sleeves were rolled up as he fit the satin to the inside of the coffin. He was humming to himself, a song that she’d never heard until living with Undertaker.  
“Do you need any help?” She got up and walked up to his side.  
He looked over at her, “you’ve already sorted through all those forms?”  
“Yes,” she looked at him, “isn’t that a good thing?”  
“Well of course it is, I’m just surprised you managed to finish so quickly.”  
Lucinda quirked an eyebrow, “it took me nearly two hours and those were just from last month and this month, honestly how have you survived this long without any help?”  
He chuckled, and rubbed the back of his neck, “I had a system of my own.”  
“I don’t believe that for a second, now do you need help?”  
He shook his head, “Unless you want to make tea for both of us, then we could take a break.”  
With a nod Lucinda headed to the kitchen, and started the kettle boiling, it was nice having a moment to think about things. She stared at the flame beneath the kettle, thinking about Undertaker. She hated admitting it, even just to herself, but she was positive by now that she was attracted to him. The way he makes her feel all tingly with a single touch to her shoulder, or those fuzzy feelings in her stomach every time he smiles or laughs. It was driving her mad, that she knew only so little about him yet she was smitten. He had recently gotten into the habit of kissing her forehead before going to his room for the night, and now it had her wondering if he felt the same way. The water was boiling now, so she pulled it off the stove and poured it into the teapot to let the tea steep, putting out the stoves flame. The frustration of all these thoughts swirling in her mind might make her just as mad as Undertaker. She put the usual accoutrement on the tray before going back out the shop.  
“Break time,” she announced setting the tray on the desk.  
He looked over, and grinned widely, “Thank you.”  
They both prepared their tea the way they enjoyed it, Undertaker putting a handful of sugarcubes in turning it into a thick sludge, and Lucinda putting a single cube in with a bit of milk.  
“I think this coffin may be the death of me,” he joked looking over the order sheet again.  
Looking it over, Lucinda noticed how many corrections had to be made from Mrs. Johnson's constant changing of just about every detail, “Well, at this point I think we tell her it’s too late to change anything, the funeral is scheduled to be in two weeks and you have to work on his body.”  
“I’m well aware, but I have to be polite to me customers,” he looked over at her, tilting his head slightly.. His hat fell off and rolled to a stop just by Lucinda’s feet. Leaning down she picked it up, but instead of giving it back, she put it on her head and looked over, “How does it look?”  
“I think it suits you,” he smiled and put a hand on her cheek, “although it looks a bit too big for you.”  
Her cheeks started to feel warmer with his proximity, she swallowed thickly before taking off the hat and placing it back on his head, “Well, it’s a bit too small for your head, so it always falls off.”  
This teasing felt almost too flirtatious, Undertaker was surprised. He’d suspected that she may have a crush on him, or maybe with how long she’s been denying it things had developed into love. He wasn’t sure, because he never pushed her, even though he wanted to be with her romantically, he wanted to show her what a healthy relationship could be like. God, he just wanted her. That underlying fear of making her panic always kept him from taking that step forward. She had to be the one to be upfront with her feelings, and he just had to be patient until she was ready. It was so difficult, especially during moments like this, where she was so close.  
“Undertaker?” she tilted her head, clearly noticing his spacing out.  
“I’m sorry, I just got a bit lost in thought there.”  
“It’s alright, I know you always have a lot on your mind,” she got on her tip toes and kissed his cheek before setting her cup back down onto his desk.  
Undertaker stood there in shock, he’d never expected her to make any sort of move… what a pleasant surprise. He finished his tea and set it back on the tray, and stopped Lucinda as she tried to take it back to the kitchen. “You made the tea, why not let me clean up?”  
She smiled, “You still have a lot of work to do on Mr. Johnsons coffin, besides it’s my job as your partner to do the dull tasks,” she turned away, “so that you don’t get distracted and find more excuses not to work.”  
This also left him surprised, Lucinda had never called herself his partner, it was usually employee or assistant. She was starting to gain more confidence and now finally saw herself as what he’d always considered her, his equal. He smiled to himself before going back to the coffin that may actually kill him, he just prayed to whatever deity may listen that Mrs. Johnson wouldn’t come in today… and that Lucinda might confess to her feelings soon.  
\---------------------  
Two weeks later after the Johnson funeral Lucinda and Undertaker entered the shop together, the sun had set and the sky shone bright with stars. It was overall a lovely affair, but it had run quite long as just about every guest had a eulogy to give, so they hadn’t been able to bury his body until later than scheduled. Lucinda locked the door once they were inside, meanwhile Undertaker stretched and leaned back to try and pop his back.  
“Why don’t you go bathe? That might help your sore muscles relax,” she suggested, as they walked back to the living area of the shop.  
He shook his head, “It’d be rude to go before you.’  
She sighed, “Undertaker, you do much harder work than I, so it makes more sense for you to need to unwind.”  
“We could always bathe together,” he teased with a grin, “then we won’t have to argue and we’ll save water.”  
Lucinda’s cheeks heated up after he suggested this, not that she was opposed to the idea, “What? We can’t do that, it’s inappropriate.”  
“No other objections though,” he noted leaning down slightly so he was closer to her eye level.  
She turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze, “Wouldn’t that mean I’d see your face?”  
“You could always just ask to see my face if you’re curious, dear.”  
Lucinda looked back at him, and slightly nodded, “this discussion is going nowhere… I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Undertaker,” she tried to surry away to her room, but he grabbed her wrist before she could make it up the stairs.  
“Lucinda, why are you so determined to hide away all alone in your room?”  
Looking back at him, she shook her head, “I’m not hiding.”  
“You keep running away when I try to initiate this conversation,” he pulled her gently, bringing her closer to him again, “I know you’re afraid, but haven’t I proven myself to you?”  
She looked up at him, tears started to well in her eyes, “I’m terrified,” she admitted in a soft voice.  
Gently, he brought her closer into a hug, just holding her close, “I know you are, and it’s okay to be afraid. I’m just as scared.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“We both have a past,” he looks down at her and kisses the top of her head, “I’m still running from it to this day, but running in place never gets you anywhere.”  
They stayed that way for awhile, finding solace in each other's arms even though both of them felt vulnerable and exposed. Lucinda was still afraid of how this man could hurt her how he could use her and toss her out like trash, but somehow felt so safe in his arms. Undertaker new all the ways that this could go wrong, and how fragile humans are, thinking about what had happened to Vincent, but found comfort in her warmth and weight against him. After staying that way for a long time, they looked at each other, Lucinda reached up and brushed his bangs out of his face. Her breath caught, seeing his gorgeous green eyes, and wondered why he hid such a perfect face. Undertaker leaned down as she urged him to with her hands on the back of his neck. She ran her fingers over his scar gently, he put a hand over the number on the back of her neck, and then they kissed. It was soft and sweet a gentle exploration and finding the best way their lips fit together. Lucinda gently broke apart after a moment and kissed over the scar up to his eye.  
“I have to be completely honest,” she muttered once she was closer to his ear, “You’ve made me fall head over heels for you.”  
His heart fluttered at hearing her finally say it, he wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, “I love you too.”  
It was a simple confession then they proceeded to kiss as Undertaker carried her off to his bedroom at the end of the hall, no need to go into the attic tonight. He would keep her safe and warm in his embrace all night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be smut in the next chapter. I hope it'll turn out okay, I'll read some of my old smut to figure out how to keep it from being trash.
> 
> Also for people who hate this droughts of content, good news! I've finally put a schedule together. Since I have two stories I'll update them every other Friday. Next week I'll update Fate is Strange and the week after I'll update Grim Delight. I'll let you guys know as I write more stories how the schedule changes. See you in two weeks :)


	7. Take Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undertaker wears through Lucinda's fears of sex, in an unconventional way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm already bad at this whole schedule thing. I had ideas for this chapter, but I got stuck just as my laptop died at work. I know it's only a few hours late, but I feel bad. I would say, smut ahoy, but uhhhh... that didn't happen. I completely planned on smut happening this chapter, but I felt like fluff was a great start to their relationship. I hope you enjoy, even if the tone shifts a bit too much.

Morning light shone in through the window stirring Undertaker from sleep, he opened his eyes slightly to see Lucinda snuggled up to him for warmth. He couldn’t help but smile at how close she was to him, almost as if she was worried he’d leave her before she woke. He stroked her tangled hair, waiting for her to regain consciousness. Lucinda hummed softly and opened her eyes to look up at me, looking rather surprised that I was still there.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” I put a hand on her cheek, “did you sleep well?”

She nodded and tried to sit up, “Very well.”

I pulled her back down after she tried to get up, “We still have time before we have to open.”

“Alright,” she moved back, laying her head on my chest and closing her eyes, “you never took a bath.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, “Neither did you.”

She sighed, “Fair enough, we should probably do that before opening the shop.”

“Together?” I lifted her head, and smirked noticing her blush.

“Wh-what?” she shifted her eyes away, “That’s still not funny, Undertaker.”

“What makes you think I’m joking, Lucinda?” I asked before leaning closer to kiss her. She didn’t object so I did just that bringing our mouths together. She wrapped her arms around my neck, even though she was hesitant to do more, and after a moment she pulled away.

“We should get up,” she let go of me and sat up, wrapping her arms around herself as if it was comforting to her.

I sat up, “I’ve pushed too far, haven’t I?”

She shook her head, “I need to get over it.”

“No, you need to work on healing,” I wrapped my arms around her.

She leaned back against me, “will you help me?”

I nodded kissing the top of her head, “Of course.”

Lucinda relaxed, sighing heavily as she muttered quietly, “I’m not opposed to the idea of bathing with you… if you’re okay with it being nothing more.”

“I’m fine with that,” I kissed her cheek.

We got up and headed out to the bathroom, where I started filling the tub with warm water, putting the plug in. Lucinda watched the water rise, deep in thought. She had a habit of getting deep into thought while staring at something, usually not wanting to talk about what was really on her mind. I had a feeling she was thinking about weather or not it was a good idea to agree to this.

“I can leave if you’d prefer,” I offered, snapping her out of her daze.

“No, it’s fine,” she smiled, and turned away to undress.

I followed her lead and removed my boxers, sleeping in clothing is so cumbersome to me, but it had made Lucinda a bit more comfortable. I turned the water off afterward, making sure the water wouldn’t be too high that it’d spill out of the tub. I looked over to my lovely lady, seeing her trying to reach the towels I had on the cabinet. I went over and pulled them down for her, setting them on the edge of the sink.

“Thank you,” she muttered, crossing her arm over her chest, “let’s not let the water get cold.”

I nodded in agreement stepping into the tub, “It’s a bit hotter than I intended.”

She snickers, “That just means we have longer.”

“We can stay in as long as you want, love,” I said sitting down and opening my arms, “I’ll make sure you stay warm.”

She got in and leaned against me, “You’re so corny, I’m surprised saying such ridiculous things doesn’t embarrass you.”

I ran my hands over the water's surface before splashing her in the face, and laughing, “My hand must’ve slipped.”

“You’re so petty,” she looked back at me, “Just you wait, I’ll have my revenge.”

I couldn’t help grinning, “Is that so?”

“Count on it, before today is over,” she huffed resting her head on my shoulder.

I ran my hands along her arms gently and put my chin on her shoulder, “Even if I apologise with a nice massage?”

“Hmmmm…” she glanced over at me, “Revenge still sounds more fun.”

I kissed her cheek, “massage and your favorite breakfast?”

“You’re offer is too tempting to resist, much like you, Undertaker.”

“And you say I’m corny,” I shake my head and run my fingers through her hair.

Lucinda leaned against my hand, closing her eyes, so I continued playing with her hair. She sighed in content so I started to scratch her scalp with my long nails. With that she was basically putty in my hands, her little noises of appreciation were so cute. I moved my hands down to her neck along her back making her shiver involuntarily. She leaned forward so it was easier for me to continue, rubbing circles into her skin and gently scratching with my nails. It was nice seeing her so relaxed, when she first started living here I never thought she’d stop being scared that I’d hurt her. I kissed her neck over her number, she’d suffered through enough, I wanted nothing more to make her happy. She hummed in thought looking over her shoulder at me with those soft brown eyes. They melted me to my core and I snaked my arms around her waist pulling her back against me.

She giggled and put her arms over mine, “thank you for that.”

“Anytime, dearie,” I turned her head and leaned closer to her, “may I have a kiss?”

She closed her eyes, “Of course.”

I kissed her tenderly, and laced my fingers with hers under the water. I shouldn’t get to caught up in this, I thought while parting her lips with my tongue. She let go of my hand and shifted to face me, twisting her tongue around with mine. Letting herself enjoy the kiss, and wrapping her arms around my neck bringing her closer. Her chest pressed against mine, the heat of the kiss, all of it was stirring things in my gut. I wanted to keep going, and take her until we were both worn out, but she said no earlier. I pulled away reluctantly, so we could both catch our breath.

“Do you want to stop now?” I asked stroking her cheek with my thumb.

She sighed and nodded slightly, “Yes.”

We got out of the tub after that and Lucinda headed upstairs to get dressed for the day. This whole thing left me thinking about the possibility of following her. Keeping the shop closed all day to just make love to her properly. I took a deep breath and followed her upstairs after thinking about it. She looked surprised that I had followed and  pulled her towel around herself tighter.

“Did you need something?”

I went over, “What would you say to keeping the shop closed today?”

“Why would we do that?”

“To make love,” I said bluntly, taking her hand, “so that we wouldn’t have to rush.”

She blushed and looked at me, “If I tell you no will you listen?”

“Of course,” I said seriously.

“I… actually would like that,” she mumbled, “Just, please stop if I ask.”

I kissed her forehead, “Say the word and it stops.”

“Take me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sort of cliff hanger... sorry. I'll get the smut next time. See you in two weeks here, if you read Fate is Strange the next chapter will be coming next Friday.   
> I'm also working on a few side projects in the works, which I'll probably post some time. Depending on how long they take to write. Let me know what you thought, I'm pretty comment hungry so feedback is nice.


	8. Take Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soft kisses, and gentle words work to soothe anxiety and fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahoy, mates. It's about damn time, right?   
> I kinda struggled writing this chapter, but that's because every other time I write smut it makes me yearn for death. However, I was determined to try my hardest. I'm sure you're sick of the super sensitive reader character or o.c. who like cums when her breasts are touched, I am too. However, with Lucinda she hasn't had sex in years, so it makes sense that she'd be super sensitive to these things that are new to her, right?   
> Anyways, I also know people don't really like talking during smut chapters. I felt it was very important to put an emphasis on communication. Undertaker is just trying to make sure he doesn't cross anything and make her panic, so when that happens they can address it and work through the issue... kind of.   
> I'm done rambling now, I promise. On with the chapter.

Lucinda had allowed her towel to drop to the ground and stood exposed, with her arms wrapped around herself in a comforting way. Undertaker dropped his own towel and gently moved her arms around his neck to pull her close to him. He stroked her hair, as she put her head against his chest to listen to his heartbeat. They stood that way for a while, Lucinda trying to calm her nerves, and Undertaker rubbing her back trying to comfort her. 

He looked down at her, “I haven’t done this in awhile either, love.”

She snickered and looked up at him, gently pushing his bangs back out of his face.

“If you can’t continue, I’ll stop,” he kissed her forehead, “This will only go on with your complete consent, alright?”

“Alright,” she nodded in agreement.

He let go of her and sat on the edge of her bed, patting the spot next to him. She took a deep breath before sitting next to him.

“May I kiss you?” he leaned closer to her.

“Yes,” she met his kiss and allowed herself to relax more. This was familiar, and comfortable, neither of them were in any rush. He licked her bottom lip, gently bringing them apart, their tongues tangled and twisted together. After a bit he broke the heated kiss and looking at her, seeing her eyes dilating.

“Can I kiss your neck, lovely?”

She tilted her head back, “Of course.”

He kissed along her jawline along the column of her neck, listening to her breath catch. Stopping at the collar bone and looked to her for approval, “does that include your breasts?”

Taking a deep breath she nodded again, “yes.”

Undertaker kissed over the mounds of flesh, over each nipple, before sliding his hands up her sides to her breasts to squeeze them. She gasped at the new sensation, but it was nothing compared to what followed as he started pinching the rosey buds. An involuntary noise left her throat and in embarrassment she covered her mouth.

A wide grin spread across Undertaker’s face, “No need to be embarrassed, darling. Don’t muffle your sounds, I want to hear you.”

She blushed harder but moved her hand away, “O-okay.”

He moved back to her neck and kissed her neck in a few places, “Would you mind if I sucked a mark here?”

“... If it's visible.”

He gently bit her neck before sucking a hickey where she couldn’t hide it without makeup or a high necked collar. He grinned and kept pinching her nipples, making her moan and squirm under his ministrations. He leaned down to one of her breasts and started sucking her nipple, she tensed, but let the feeling was nice. He keep sucking and pinched the other one at the same time, and she started feeling very warm from his ministrations. Until his teeth grazed her nipple, she pushed on his shoulders, feeling tense again. He got off and looked at her a bit confused, he leaned down to kiss her neck again and she saw a flash of blonde hair.

“No, wait,” she said firmly, slightly panting.

“Is it too much?” he asked looking at her apologetically.

She nodded, trying to catch her breath, she felt too hot. The heat was pooling in her abdomen and there was something odd between her legs. In the back of her mind she felt gloved hands on her, even though Undertakers were bare. Alestior’s face was in her mind, and she felt the sting of her cheek from his slap. She closed her eyes forcing herself not to think about that, now was not the time to remember that. She tried to take deep breaths but they remained shallow as she tried her hardest to calm down.

“Lucinda,” Undertaker said pulling her from her thoughts, he leaned close to her face, “may I kiss you?”

“Yes,” she sat up on her elbows meeting his lips again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him on top of her. He gently parted her lips again, exploring her mouth with his tongue gently. 

He pulled away from her after a moment, “Are you okay?”

“I am now,” she nuzzled his neck, “I’m sorry for panicking.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m the one who got a bit carried away after all.”

She kissed his neck in a few places, “It’s okay.”

He sighed and looked at her, “Is it okay if I continue?”

“Yes,” she pecked his lips and he moved back to her breasts, leaving a trail of kisses as he moved down her body. He kept going, kissing along her stomach and then down along her left thigh. Then gently spread her legs apart, looking back up at her, only to see her looking down at him, looking both confused and nervous.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to prepare your body,” he kissed the inside of her thigh, “So when I penetrate you, it won’t be as painful. I won’t lie, it will hurt, but this will significantly help.”

She swallowed thickly, “I trust you.”

He smiled brightly and ran his finger along her soaking slit, making her moan and tense from the sensation. She relaxed after a moment, waiting for what was to come next. Undertaker used both his hands to spread her legs wider, before licking through her folds, enjoying her taste. She gripped the sheets, moaning as he continued licking, then he moved his head away before continuing.

“Have you ever touched yourself, love?”

“N-No,” she shook her head.

He nodded and moved a hand to her lower lips, “this little nub is called the clitorous,” he puncuated it by running a finger over her clit. A jolt of pleasure shot through her body, warmth spread again, but it remained pleasant. He moved his finger away and replaced it with his mouth, licking and sucking the sensitive bundle of nerves. She moaned, laying back on the bed, gripping the sheets, feeling a coil tightening in her abdomen. He used her dazed state to soothe the pain of a finger entering her, slowly and carefully.

“Undertaker,” she moaned gripping the sheets tighter, “I… can’t handle… any-anymore.”

He stopped sucking her clit, and held his hand still, allowing her to adjust to the sensation, “Are you going to cum?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed, “I just feel something’s not right with my stomach.”

He nodded and kissed her thigh in a comforting way before continuing to suck her clit. She moved her hand to grip his hair, moaning as she reached her peak, the coil snapping as she laid back against the mattress panting softly.

“Do you feel alright?” he asked pushing his bangs back out of his face, keeping his finger inside her.

She nodded, looking down at him, “It’s just something new to me.”

“That’s known as climaxing,” he muttered, “Can I keep going?”

“Yes, but only if you kiss me first.”

He smiled and kissed her, happily. Then gently started moving his finger inside of her, causing Lucinda to moan unexpectedly. She wrapped her arms around him, adjusting to this. He kissed her neck and carefully sucked another mark, at the junction of her neck, where it wouldn’t be as visible. As she was more distracted, he removed his finger and then inserted two, letting her adjust before moving them inside her. She cried out when he started moving them like scissors to help loosen her entrance a bit more.

“Do you think you can handle three fingers?”

Her blush deepened, but she nodded.

He removed his fingers and yet again reentered with one more, letting her have a moment to get used to the intrusion then he started moving his fingers slowly again. She bucked her hips, putting her forehead against his shoulder, moaning as he moved his fingers. He stopped moving them as he felt her body relax more, and gently removed the three of them. She looked up at him as he used his tongue to clean off his fingers.

“Are you ready for what’s next?”

“As ready as I can be,” she muttered, looking at him, “do I need to do anything for you?”

“You don’t need to worry about it,” he pecked her lips, getting off her and laying on his side “Turn on her side, facing me.”

She followed his instruction, facing him and wrapping her arms around his neck again. He moved her leg up over his hip and ran his prick through her moist fols, knocking her clit a few times, causing them both to moan. He adjusted his position slightly and entered her, just letting the tip through. She tensed, clutching his shoulders as he started pushing in more, slowly. He kept pushing in slowly until his entire length was nestled inside her. He kissed her gently, keeping her close as she adjusted to him. He pulled away after awhile, looking into her deep brown eyes, he hummed and kissed her forehead.

“Undertaker,” she closed her eyes, “You can um… move now.”

He kissed over her closed eyelids, “I can be patient, don’t push yourself for me.”

She nodded and kissed his neck again, he sighed in content. 

They stayed that way for a little while longer, before Lucinda experimentally moved her hips, and both of them moaned at the feeling. He gently held her hips and started moving inside her. They moved together, moaning as things progressed. She was still tight around him, which was quickly bringing Undertaker to his end. She could feel her abdomen tensing again, another climax was brewing again. Then after a hip adjustment, he hit a place inside her that made her cry out in pleasure.

“There, again,” she groaned.

He did as she asked, moving faster to bring them to the end. She clenched around him, making him moan in surprise. He slipped a hand between their bodies as best he could with the awkward angle and started rubbing her clit in time with his thrusts. Lucinda cried out louder, and gripped his shoulders. They kept up that pace until he couldn’t handle it anymore.

“Ca-can I…  finish inside… of you, love?”

She nodded kissing him again as she came, her walls tightening, causing him to cum inside her. Both were panting slightly as they came down from the highs. 

She smiled after catching her breath, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” he kissed her neck and shoulder, “Anything for you, my darling.”

They spent the rest of the day in bed, exploring each other until they were both too tired to do anything but sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter.
> 
> If you want to know why I exclude any mention of Undertakers long nails, it's because he broke one recently and clipped them all. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
> 
> I'll see you back here in two weeks, I need to coin flip to decide something, but it's a secret.


	9. Comeuppance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life seems to be settling down for Lucinda, and then a certain intruder comes back into her life, prompting her to take action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends, I got myself a laptop for my birthday so hopefully this will be the last chapter posted from my moms computer. To dispel a certain myth about recovery from sexual assault, revenge is not bad for people. If justice can not be served to the assaulter, or rapist, getting revenge on that person is the best action the victim can take. I know that may rub some people the wrong way, but it's important for Lucinda to be able to move on with her life. Also I decided to put in smut, because why not right? Enjoy.

Lucinda woke up feeling groggy as she awoke to the dull light of morning. It had been three weeks since they first made love, and Undertaker had taken her to bed again last night. It had become regular for them, and honestly it had helped her immensely as she healed emotionally. However, she still had to live with the fact that Aliestor was still out there, and taking advantage of other young girls like her. Undertaker pulled her from her thoughts, pulling her close to him again as he shifted positions. She couldn’t help smiling seeing him relaxed, so at ease. It was nice, the quiet of the morning. However, they would have to get up, open the shop, and leave this peaceful lull.  
“Undertaker,” she said softly, running her fingers over his sides and chest, gently.  
He stirred a bit, but still slept. Lucinda sighed and tried to get up so she could go make breakfast, only to be pulled back down.  
“Faker,” she grumbled, poking his ticklish spots making him squirm. He laughed then quickly grabbed her hands holding them still.  
“I just wanted to cuddle a bit longer,” he kissed her forehead, also considering the possibility of morning sex.  
She sighed, “I’d love to stay in bed longer, but we have to open the shop and tend to our responsibilities.”  
“You’re always so pragmatic,” he flipped their positions, laying above her, “It’s still early enough, we can stay here longer.”  
Blushing slightly she looked up at him, “But we don’t have time.”  
“We have all the time in the world,” he kissed her neck, nipping at it as he went.   
She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him away from her, “as much as I would love that we have things to do, and I personally would like to clean up first.”  
He pouted but got up, “alright, love. I'll go make breakfast.”  
Lucinda got up as well, going upstairs to get clothes then coming back down. She kisses Undertaker's cheek on her way to the bath, “I love you.”  
“I love you too,” he pecked her lips, before continuing to cook.  
The morning seemed to rush by after that. Work kept them busy, until mid afternoon came and things seemed to slow considerably. They were sitting on the couch, Lucinda was leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder while they waited for their next customer. Undertaker had insisted on at least cuddling if there was nothing else to do at that point, and she hadn’t seen any reason to argue.  
“Do we have have anyone scheduled to come in?” Undertaker asked.  
She nodded, “The Smiths are coming in with the clothes for their father, later today.”  
He nodded and pulled her into his lap, “perfect.”  
“What are you doing?” She questioned.  
He didn't have a chance to answer as the door opened, and the customer snickered at seeing them, “am I interrupting?”  
Lucinda tensed when the door opened then rushed to stand up and faced the customer, but before she could say anything, she froze. Seeing those light blue eyes, that smile made her feel queasy, as she stared at Alietor Chamber. Panic started to race through her mind, he had found her, and that terrified her beyond reason. She tried desperately to control the tremor in her shoulders at seeing him invading her home. Undertaker gently took one of her hands, bringing her back to reality. Aliestor didn’t recognize her. There was no reason to be afraid. Terror then turned to anger, as she regained composure.  
“How can we help you today, sir?” She forced a smile, keeping her anger restrained.  
“I need information, a friend of mine has gone missing.”  
“I'm sure we can help with that, I’ll go make tea,” she rushed out of the room.  
Undertaker was shocked that she hadn't tried to kill Aliestor the second she saw him. He wondered what she was trying to do. He talked with the Viscount, but didn't want to help him. It was a young lady who'd run from him, apparently. Which was not a surprise to him, any woman who has been unfortunate enough to know Viscount Druitt, has a story about what a creep and pervert he was. Although none of them were willing to speak out against him to the authorities, letting him off scot free. He’d heard Lucinda’s story, every graphic detail, made him consider taking his life before his time was up. He didn’t deserve his life, he’s a real monster, but if he took his life the counsel would have his head. When Lucinda returned she set the tray down, offering Undertaker a cup first, she knew exactly how he liked it. Then her attention was on Aliestor, “how do you take it, my lord?” There was a sarcasm to her voice as she addressed him with contempt he didn’t pick up on.  
He was staring at her chest from her bent over position, “Two cubes of sugar,” he said without much more acknowledgement to her. He clearly still hadn’t figured out who she was, he still saw her as nothing more than an object and that made Undertaker’s blood boil. He was ready to make him leave the shop. Lucinda shook her head as she offered the cup to the unsuspecting Viscount, then dumped the scalding liquid into his lap, feigning it as an accident.  
“I’m so sorry,” she said without a trace of remorse, “my hand must’ve slipped.”  
That's when Alietor looked at her, he was upset about to tell her off for doing such a thing, but that’s when he really saw Lucinda, the pure contempt in her eyes as she looked down on him. Realization must’ve struck at that moment, as he tried to smile, but his hand twitched nervously, “Is that you, little raven?”  
“Don't you dare call me that, Aliestor,” she spat back, then slapped him hard.   
Undertaker couldn't help but smile at this, getting revenge on him would help her finally really start to heal. The absolute hatred she felt for him could finally be laid to rest, and she could live her life without fear of him.   
He grabbed his cheek in shock in response to the pain and made to stand. Lucinda stepped on his foot forcing him to stay down, he shouted from the pain, “Get off of me!”  
“How many times did I ask you to get off? Did you listen?” She put more pressure on his foot, “how long have you been praying on unsuspecting girls, you bastard?” She growled grabbing his collar, “how many girls have you raped, when they just needed help?!”  
He stammered, trying to process this before saying meekly, “I haven't exactly kept track.”  
“Well this girl you're looking for will be the last, or else I will castrate you myself, Aliestor, that's a promise,” she said, darkly, digging her nails into his chest through his shirt.  
The squeal he let out was ridiculously shrill as he nodded aggressively, “N-never again.”  
She glared at him before punching him with as much strength as she could. Then she dragged him to the door and tossed him outside, “stay out of our shop, you scum.” Then slammed the door closed behind him.  
The sign fell from the roof from the force of it, falling on top of Alietor, presumably. She took a few deep breaths leaning against the door. Adrenaline was still pumping through her. She locked the door and went over to Undertaker, sitting on his lap and kissing him passionately. This he could safely say he didn’t expect, as she pushed him back onto the couch kissing his neck. Lucinda had never agreed to sex in the shop where someone could walk in at any moment, and she never took charge. Not that he was complaining.  
She tugged at his robes impatiently, before pulling them up off of his chest and bit at his chest, running her hands along his sides and then over his chest. He slid his hands underneath her dress, he had hoped to have a little romp at some point today, but he hadn’t expected Lucinda to initiate it. She squirmed against his touch and pulled his hands from her to pin them above his head, looking down at him.  
“I need this, Undertaker,” she muttered, grinding her hips against his.  
He groaned unwillingly bucking against her, “Need what, dear?”  
She let go of his wrists, “I need control,” then she pulled off his pants and boxers, and started stroking his half hard length kissing and biting at his neck again.  
He groaned, keeping his hands down as she abused his neck and stroked him, roughly. His body reacted to her ministrations, and he didn’t know how to feel about the aggressive nature of her actions. She moved farther down and without much hesitation she started sucking his cock, no teasing or nervousness about it, just firm sucking. He moaned and bucked his hips up as he gripped the cushions of the couch, she continued to be relentless. She stopped completely when she hit her gag reflex, pulling off and panting heavily.  
He looked down at her, concerned, “Are you okay, Lucinda?”  
“I’m fine,” she insisted, with a slight pout.  
He stroked her cheek, “You don’t need to push yourself.”  
She stood up and removed her soaked underwear, “I’m not done with you, yet.”  
He sat up, and opened his arms as she climbed back onto his lap. She straddled him and kissed him as she promptly impaled herself on his length. Her fingers tangled into his hair as she started moving herself up and down, unable to stop the moans and other noises she made from the sensation. Undertaker gripped her hips, panting and moaning as she moved quickly, with little rhythm. Everything went by quickly and as soon as he reached down between them and started rubbing her clit she tensed and came around him. She kept up her movement and squeezed her inner walls around him, and he came inside her.  
Both sat there still and panting afterwards, letting their bodies and minds catch up to the present moment. Lucinda started laughing against his neck, she looked at him, “I’m sorry, love.”  
“You have no reason to be sorry,” he kissed her forehead, cheeks and along her neck, “I like seeing this side of you.”  
She smiled slightly, “I love you.”  
“I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd you think? We all know Aliestor didn't keep his promise if you remember the special feature in Black Butler 2, but I felt it was important to give Lucinda peace about what happened to her. Leave me a comment if you feel so inclined.


	10. Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucinda finds out she's pregnant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy friends, I know this is late and I'm really sorry. It's funny, I was even planning on posting it early, because I started the chapter after posting the last chapter for Fate is Strange. Oh well. Anywhosen, I struggled and scrapped the chapter three times, not knowing what I wanted to write about. Friday went by, and then inspiration struck and it kinda struck harder than expected. I spent most of Saturday writing this.  
> I've been revising things today and making sure I still like it. Here it is, probably the longest chapter I've written on either of my stories. I've divided it into different sections, because I didn't want to leave you hanging or deprive you of content after being gone so long.

I sat by Lucinda in the bathroom, holding her hair back as she vomited. She looked miserable after this bought of sickness, perhaps it was something they ate recently. Nothing came to mind, but even after finishing she just sat there catching her breath. I rubbed her back comfortingly and got her a washcloth to clean her face, she wiped off her face a bit then leaned against me. She sighed heavily and carefully stood up, using the sink to get up from the floor.

“Be careful, love,” I said as I stood too, “You should probably rest today, okay?”

She immediately shook her head, “I can’t rest today, we were going to clean the shop today.”

“That can wait, until you’re feeling better. We could keep closed up today, if you don’t want to be alone.”

“You have to work on Mrs Smith's coffin, finish working on Mr Wilson’s body, and get started on the coffin for the Brown’s daughter. There’s too much for you to do for you to take a day off.”

I sighed, “I suppose you’ve got me there. You could stay on the couch if you don’t want to be alone.”

She smiled slightly, “I appreciate the thought, but I’d feel restless just sitting there not helping you. I’ll just stay in our room, okay?”

I nodded, unable to help a small smile at hearing her refer to it as their room. Helping her to the room, I was careful. unsure exactly how ill she was feeling and made sure she was comfortable and had a fairly big glass of water before going to open the shop. She was right, I did have a lot of work to do, but if I managed to get it all done then she wouldn’t need to worry about cleaning. I unlocked the door and flipped the sign before heading to work on the body of Mr Wilson.

The day was fairly quiet, giving me plenty of time to work on the coffins and clean the shop. It was around 3 in the afternoon that I decided to go check on Lucinda. She was in front of the mirror, only in her underwear, observing her stomach, feeling around her fairly small stomach. I walked up behind her and put my hands on her waist, kissing her neck and shoulder, gently, “I’m surprised you’re out of bed.”

“I found a bump on my stomach,” she muttered putting her hands over it, “and I think my breasts are larger, not much, but I thought it was odd, so I thought I should look in the mirror to see if it was true.”

I moved her hands gently and felt the bump, my heart stopping when I felt the small bump on her stomach. She was right, it was odd, but definitely not in the way she was thinking. I grinned and kissed her cheek then turned her head for a proper kiss. She returned it, but was clearly confused at my excitement. When I pulled away, I couldn’t help smiling at her again.

“What did you find?”

“I think you’re pregnant,” I ran my hands over the bump again, “I’m surprised I didn’t notice it sooner. If you’re showing already you must be pretty far along.”

She smiled as well, looking at herself in the mirror, “pregnant?”

I nodded in confirmation.

“I should probably see a doctor to make sure, right?”

“It’s definitely a good idea, just to be sure,” I pulled her closer against me, hopeful that my guess was right. That we would start a family together, something I had always wanted. She kept staring at herself in the mirror, looking unsure, but trying to mask it with a smile.

*****

I stood outside the clinic doors nervously, after hearing Undertaker’s guess that I was pregnant I had decided to come in for a doctor to confirm it for certain. I hadn’t stopped feeling nervous since hearing the words, that I might be pregnant. Was I ready for that? Undertaker had only been dating for about 5 months, yet we’ve known each other for 2 years. It would be best to find out if I was actually pregnant before thinking about anything like that. I walked inside and to the front desk, still feeling unsure and honestly scared of what the future could hold. I talked to the woman there before being taken back to see a doctor. I sat in the room, playing with my fingers while I waited for someone to come in. The door opened and a woman with bright red hair came in, and looked at me with a bright smile.

“Miss Lucinda?”

“That’s me.”

“I’m Angela Dallas, you can call me Madame Red. I’ll be examining you today.”

“Okay,” I stood up, and looked to her for instructions.

Madame Red examined her and did confirm that she was pregnant, she looked very happy about giving the news, and Lucinda forced herself to smile about it. However, this dredged up all her anxiety about carrying a child, and how this might change her relationship with Undertaker. She left the clinic and started walking home, thinking about whether or not she was even ready to have a child. Pregnancy was so risky, what if something happened to the child? What if something happened to her? She could be a really bad mother for all she knows. Yet, at the same time she thought about her parents. The way they threw her out because they couldn’t afford to take care of her, and the last thing she wanted to do was bring a child into a home where they couldn’t care for them.

When she reached the shop she just stood outside the door, staring at it. Was she even ready to go back and tell Undertaker that she was actually pregnant? She thought about it and started walking to the Phantomhive Manor, maybe talking to Finny would help soothe her anxiety. The walk there may have been long, but she needed to talk to someone about her fears. If she told Undertaker he might be upset or try to write off her concerns in his happiness. Besides, she didn’t want to burden him with her anxiety. He had plenty to worry about already without her adding to the pile.

Walking up to the gate of the manor she called into the garden, “Finny?”

A few minutes later Finny was there at the gate, smiling brightly, “Lucinda, I haven’t seen you for a little while, come on in.”

I nodded and opened the gate going straight to him and hugging him tightly, “I’m sorry for not visiting sooner.”

“It’s alright,” he hugged back happily, “Let’s go inside, we can talk in there, yeah?”

“Right,” I let go of him and took his arm as we headed into the manor. As expected Bard was in the kitchen when we went in and as I sat at the table while Finny made tea, Mey-Rin came in as well. These three seemed very close, I was happy to see that Finny had found good friends. People who made him happy, and that he had a place where he could also be himself.

Setting a cup in front of her he smiled brightly and sat next to her, “Was there a specific reason you came to visit?”

“Yes,” she sighed and looked to Bard in Mey-Rin, who were obviously pretending not to listen to their conversation, “if you’re going to listen, you may as well come sit with us.” In an instant they were at the table, along with Tanaka. 

“Don’t make a big fuss about this please,” she sipped her tea, stalling for a moment as all of them nodded in agreement, “I’ve been seeing Undertaker, romantically that is, and I just found out I’m pregnant.”

Any hopes of not making a big deal about it flew out the window as soon as she said it. Their faces all had completely different reactions, and Mey-Rin rushed over to hug her excitedly.

“Oh that’s so exciting, that is. Congratulations!” She squealed in delight.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting that,” Bard rubbed the back of his neck.

Finny stared at the table, clearly processing what he just heard, “Well, congratulations. Thanks for telling me,” he smiled after thinking about it a little while longer.

“Ho ho ho,” Tanaka added.

“Well, um… thank you for the well wishes, but I wanted to talk to someone about my concerns about it. I don’t know how to feel about this. I want to be happy, but to be perfectly honest, I’m terrified.”

“Understandably,” Finny took her hand, “what’s got you the most worried?”

“If I’m ready for a child, if I’m prepared for that kind of responsibility. If I’ll even be a good mother, I don’t want to bring a child into an environment where they won’t be loved or well taken care of. If I am ready for the child and something happens during pregnancy, can I deal with the consequences? Living with the knowledge that the child died, or finding out my body can’t carry a child to completion.”

“That’s a lot,” Bard interjected, “But it seems like most of it is baseless.”

Mey-Rin nodded in agreement, “Mm-hm… I’d say the only question you really need to figure out is if you’re ready to have a child or not.”

“I have no doubt you’ll be a good mum,” Finny added, “So we can cross that worry off the list.”

“I guess so,” Lucinda smiled slightly, thinking about having a child with Undertaker. He was always so kind and loving that she couldn’t exactly imagine him being a bad father. Which she thought was a big reason why he was so excited, that he did want to be a father, but at the same time she was sure that if she decided to give the child up for adoption, he’d be on her side. At least, that was what she hoped. On that note, was she ready to be a mother? Could she easily give up her child, like her parents got rid of her? Honestly, it didn’t feel right even considering it. Deep down, if she was going to have a child, she was going to raise and take care of them. 

“Lucinda?” Finny prompted.

She stood up, “Thank you for this, I need to go home and tell Undertaker the good news.”

“I take it you’re ready then?”

She nodded, and the three of them cheered, hugging Finny she left the manor, rushing to Undertaker’s shop. As soon as she was there, she flung the door open and ran to the back, grabbing him by his collar and snogging him passionately. It took a moment for him to respond, but he wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed the kiss until she pulled away. 

“I’m pregnant,” she confirmed, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheeks and nose.

His grin threatened to break his face in two, and he picked her up spinning her around, “We’re going to have a baby!”

She couldn’t help laughing, holding on to him for dear life as they spun around the shop, eventually settling on the couch and kissing for a good long while, telling each other how much they love each other in between.

*****

“If I’m going to bare your child, I have a right to know your real name!” Lucinda had been pushing for this since they had confirmed the pregnancy. At first it was gently probing for information about his past, with reassurances and usually done while they were cuddling, or after having sex. It was little things like knowing why he chose to grow out his hair, or learning about previous romantic partners. She seemed to take the information about Vincent a lot better than he ever expected her to. Now she wanted to know about his scars, wanted to know about his past, and the one she has been the most adamant about was learning his name. He hated when she was feeling argumentative, her hormones were out of control, so what would normally be a reasonable discussion constantly turns into an argument.

“My name isn’t that important,” he kept his voice calm. 

“It’s important to me,” she crossed her arms over her swollen chest, “You know more about me than I know about you. I want this relationship to work, but that requires communication on both sides. Your name should be something I already know!”

“You do know my name, Undertaker.”

“You changed your name to match your profession, I want to know your real name.”

He sighed, she did have a point, but his name meant he’d have to explain his past, as well as being a reaper. How could he explain that to her? She had taken most everything in stride, but what if that was too strange for her? No matter how he looked at this he would have to tell her everything. He wanted to tell her, eventually, but he didn’t think they’d have this discussion so soon. She huffed at him not responding and stomped upstairs, making it a point to slam the door in her anger. Leaving the cold silence in the wake of her anger. He sighed and headed to their room to collect a few things, before going to make peace with her. He’d let her cool down for a little bit before going upstairs to tell her everything that he had been hiding from her.

Lucinda meanwhile was pacing upstairs in the attic, which if this fight persisted she may end up sleeping up here again, maybe that would teach him a lesson. She sat on the bed, as a cloud of dust flew up from the comforter, she sighed heavily, it had been awhile since they bothered to clean up here. Why was he being so stubborn about this? It had only been a month, but she was four months along in pregnancy now, would it be like this for the remaining five months? God, she hoped not. It would be awful if things got worse, she may have to leave if that were the case. She could always ask Finny if they had a place for her, but if they weren’t able to take her in, then she’d be back out on the streets pregnant, this time. She hoped this fight with Undertaker would end positively, that they’d be able to work things out for their little one.

A knock on the door followed by his voice coming through the door, “Lucinda, may I come in?”

“It depends,” she said with a bit of petulance in her voice, “are we going to talk or just pretend the fight is over?”

“I want to talk,” he opened the door, “Will you close your eyes for a moment?”

She stared at him, with furrowed brows then sighed and closed her eyes, “Fine.”

He walked into the room, setting his scythe against the wall, and sitting next to her on the bed, “alright, love, let me start from the beginning.”

“What do you mean? Can I open my eyes?”

“Not yet,” he put a gentle hand on her back, “would you believe it if I told you humans aren’t alone? That there are other species, or creatures out there?”

“I’m open minded to the idea,” she looked to him, “what about it?”

He took a deep breath, “Well, the reason I’m so… secretive is that I’m a grim reaper,” he waited for her to laugh, for her to tell him how absurd that was, that he was crazy.

Instead she just raised her eyebrow, keeping her eyes closed, “Were you once human?”

“Yes, a very long time ago.”

“Hmm…” she groped for his hand to hold it, “Tell me more?”

“What do you want to know?” he laced their fingers together.

“About your life as a human, how you became a reaper, all of it.”

“When I was human I was part of a small family, we weren’t very rich, but were happy with what we had. I helped how I could, but when my parents had another child, I felt lonely. I was no longer as happy, and honestly I acted out more because of it. My parents didn’t know how to deal with me, and I started keeping to myself more. I had a chance to change things, to salvage my life, but I made a stupid mistake while I was angry. My actions brought the reapers to me, and they made me one of them. Forcing me to work for them, as a way of fixing what I had done.”

She squeezed his hand gently.

“I worked for them for a long time, a lot longer than I like thinking about,” he sighs, “but I had to serve my penene for harming a human before their time is up.”

She took all this in, remaining quiet then nodded a few times, “Thank you for telling me this, but why are my eyes closed?”

“I didn’t want to scare you off right away, you can open your eyes now,” he let go of her hand.

She opened her eyes and looked to the scythe, clearing not expecting that, she stared at it before standing up to observe it closer, “this is for reaping souls?”

“Yes,” he held up a book that was in his lap, “this is my list, in a way. Of all the souls I have reaped in the past.”

She took this in stride and walked over to Undertaker, gently running her finger along his scar, “will you tell me  how you got these?”

He nodded in agreement, closing his eyes as she ran her fingers along it, “It was a run in with a demon, interrupting a soul collecting, it attacked us and I took the brunt of it in protecting my partner. He was younger than me, newer to soul collecting, never run into a demon before, so I thought he should get away while he had the chance.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you, love,” she kissed his scar in a few places and then pecked his lips, “Thank you for being so honest with me about all of this. But there’s still something you haven’t told me.”

“I knew you would ask about that,” he ran a hand along her stomach, “My name is that important to you?”

“I am carrying your child, and I plan on staying with you forever, so I do think it’s important.”

He smiled at hearing that, “forever?”

“Well, I suppose as long as I live,” she corrected, “Now that I know you’ll outlive me.”

“Either way, you want to stay with me?”

“Yes,” she sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder, “as long as you want me to stay, that is.”

“I want you here,” he wrapped his arms around her, happy to hold his whole family, “my real name… is Cedric. Cedric Roseton.”

She smiled brightly and kissed him reassuringly, and when she pulled away she muttered, “Then I suppose that makes me Lucinda Roseton.”

Another face splitting grin and suddenly he had Lucinda on her back and was kissing her, careful not to put pressure on her stomach. 

*****

Lucinda sighed, snuggling into her husband’s side, enjoying cuddling with him, “We should think about baby names, Cedric.”

“We should,” he smiled putting his hands on her large stomach, “The little one will be here in three months.”

She smiled, he loved putting his hands on her bump, all the time, “Well how about you think of girls names and I’ll think of boys names?”

“Good idea,” he kissed the side of her head, “what are you hoping for?”

“I don’t really have a preference, honestly,” she shrugged, “what about you?”

He chuckled, “I don’t really have a preference either. I just hope they’re happy and healthy.”

She couldn’t help smiling at that, Cedric was so corny, but she absolutely loved it. It never failed to make her smile, especially when he spent time talking to their unborn child or insisting on doing things for her because of her delicate condition. It was always all of the little things that reminded her how much she loved him. 

“What do you think of the name Christine?”

She shook her head, “I’m not a fan of it, what do you think of Timothy? We could call him Timmy for short.”

“Maybe,” he thought for a bit, “What about Jane?”

“Too common,” she shook her head, “Um… what about Edgar?”

“I’ve never been partial to the name,” he shrugged, “Anica?”

“I like that, we can put that as a maybe,” she smiled, “Jackson?”

He shook his head, “I’ve always liked the name Agatha.”

She chuckled, “I’ve never liked it.”

He sighed and kissed her, “Well, we have two maybe’s so far. We may end up waiting for the baby to get here before we decide.”

“That’s a good point,” she ran her hands over her enlarged stomach, “We still have three months to think of more names of course. For now though, we’re hungry.”

Cedric was immediately up and heading to the kitchen, humming to himself as he went. Lucinda watched him leave and couldn’t stop smiling, this was bliss. The quiet excitement before the baby came, spending the days preparing for the little one’s debut. She stood and followed her husband into the kitchen, still a little worried about when the baby would be born.

*****

Lucinda felt a distinct kick and then felt something wet between her legs as she was getting out of bed for what she thought was just a late night bathroom trip. Her water had just broken, in the middle of the night, and suddenly anxiety washed through her entire being as she shook Cedric from his sleep.

“Lucinda? What is it?” he was quick to wake up tonight, he’d been on high alert ever since they hit 9 months into pregnancy.

“My water just broke,” she sounded panicked as she clutched his shoulders, breathing through what felt like a contraction. He quickly sat up and helped her through that one then got up dressing very quickly.

“I’ll go get Madame Red, stay in the bed,” he said rushed, “I’ll be back very soon, I love you.”

With that he was off, and Lucinda was stuck laying in bed breathing through contractions as they came, clutching a pillow in place of having her husband there to comfort her. She put a hand on her stomach, feeling their little one moving, clearly ready to come into the world, and she closed her eyes trying to calm her nerves. They had spent time preparing for them to be here, and as ready as she felt, she also felt completely unprepared for this. To be a mother, but after tonight, she would have to be ready no matter what. 

The door opened and Cedric came in with Madame Red who quickly had her reposition, then looked to Cedric, “get me some towels, and warm water.”

He rushed to comply bringing her a stack of towels first then water as she requested.

“Thank you, now leave, you shouldn’t be here for this.”

“No!” Lucinda immediately protested, “I don’t want him to leave.”

She sighed, “Fine, just stay out of the way,” Madame Red would normally kick the husbands out during birth, but at the same time they didn’t have much time to argue over this.

Undertaker rushed over to the bed and took Lucinda’s hand, letting her squeeze it as she was directed through labour. The pain came and went as time went on, but either way Lucinda was happy to have Cedric there to comfort her through it all. Labour seemed to endure forever, but then she was pushing, everytime she was told to and then there was crying. The shrill cries of a baby, and it was over, their child was here, brought into the world. Madame Red was cleaning the child up and then wrapped them up warmly, before offering the bundle to Undertaker.

“Congratulations, you have a little girl,” Madame Red informed them.

A daughter, a happy healthy little girl, who was still crying even as Cedric tried to comfort her. She was so perfect, she had quite a lot of hair on her head, black like her mothers. Lucinda felt so tired, and overwhelmed with joy.

“You look tired, love. You should rest, I can take care of her while you sleep,” Cedric leaned over and kissed her forehead, still very mindful of their little one.

“I’ll see myself out then,” Madame Red smiled, “she’s beautiful. I’ll come back for a check up in a few days.”

“Thank you,” Lucinda mumbled, sleepily.

She nodded and left. 

Cedric looked to his wife, unable to stop smiling, “Well, my love, you should rest. You’ve done something amazingly difficult.”

She nodded in agreement and closed her eyes mumbling, “Wake me up if you have any trouble, love.”

Their daughter was still crying, and Undertaker tried his best to comfort her, gently rocking her. She eventually stopped crying and settled into his arms falling asleep. Her big day had made her tired as well, it would seem, he was very careful in carrying her to the cot and tucking her in. She snuggled into her new bed, remaining fast asleep, leaving Cedric alone to watch over his family. He sat on the edge of the bed, and took his wife’s hand again, feeling completely content with life at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought, also if you have name suggestions for the baby. Her name in the original story was Elerica, because I was trying to be cool. I might just change it to Erica, unless you have suggestions I like better. See some of you next week for Fate is Strange, and maybe even earlier than that if inspiration strikes again ;)


	11. Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucinda and Cedric learn the challenges of parenting, but everything turns out okay for them in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy friends, so I've been struggling managing updating these works. I appreciate your patience for each chapter. Well, either way, I didn't want this to be a story that just dragged out forever. I made the decision to end this in basically the same way as the last story. Since I only got one suggestion for a name, I used that one. I hope you guys enjoy this, and maybe read some of my other works in the future. Thank you. 
> 
> First segment: Lily is a newborn  
> Second segment: Lily is two  
> Third segment: Lily is three

Lucinda awoke to the sound of their child crying, as she had for the past few nights, their daughter had trouble sleeping most nights. It was a good thing she was a light sleeper, so she got up and went to tend to her. They needed to give her a proper name still, but they hadn’t really discussed it yet. Things have been fairly busy since she was born, and that was how Lucinda had expected things to be, she picked up their little bundle of joy and rocked her for a moment. 

“It’s okay, sweetie, mummy’s here,” she soothed, quietly. Although he was normally a heavy sleeper, she didn’t want to wake Cedric. He had been taking care of both of them for the first few days, and she’d felt incredibly guilty about it. Yet, he hadn’t  said anything about it, just took care of his girls. Their daughter nuzzled her breasts and she sat on the edge of the bed, pulling down the top of her night gown to feed her.

There was a shift in the bed then Cedric was next to her, running his fingers through her hair, “How are my girls?”

“Tired,” Lucinda looked at him, careful not to disrupt their baby, “I’m sorry for waking you. I was trying to be quiet.”

“No need to be sorry, love. I don’t mind at all,” he smiled brightly, “I can wind her so you can go back to sleep if you want.”

She couldn’t help smiling at him, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he pecked her lips.

Their daughter was done eating and struggled a bit, she was always squirmy after being fed, Lucinda carefully handed her over to Cedric. He stood, got a cloth, putting it over his shoulder, humming as he winded her.

“We need to decide on a name for her,” Lucinda rested her head on her hand watching them.

“We do,” he agreed, setting her down in her cot and removing the cloth from his shoulder and wiping up what didn’t end up on the cloth.

“Do you have any ideas?”

He sat by her, and wrapped an arm around her waist, “I’ve always liked the name Lillian.”

Lucinda hummed in thought, “She’d need middle name, Lillian Roseton needs something else… hmm… what about Lillian Erica Roseton?”

“I love it,” he pecked her lips, “Our little Lily.”

She chuckled and leaned on his shoulder, “We can make it official tomorrow, and perhaps change my name too.”

“Change your name?”

“My last name, to Lucinda Roseton.”

He grinned, one of those grins that threatened to split his face in half. He pulled her back into the bed, kissing her as they laid down, she cuddled up to him when they pulled apart. Both of them were tired, and she fell asleep, quickly, while keeping her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Cedric ran his fingers through her hair as she slept, feeling content and feel asleep as well.

\---------------------------

“Lily,” Cedric called out into the shop, only to hear giggling. Ever since she learned to crawl, hiding had become her favorite thing. Finding different places to hide, new areas to explore, and of course meet new people when there were customers in the shop. Once she had snuck out after a customer, and he nearly had a heart attack when he had to track her down. Luckily today, she was just in the shop, it sounded like her laughing was from under the couch, but he had to make it a game for her. He hummed and walked around the shop, “Hmm… now where could she have gone?”

There was more giggling as she crawled from her hiding place to a new one. He walked around the shop, pretending to look in different places, before kneeling down in front of the coffee table, and looking underneath it. Lily cheered and reached up for him, he couldn’t help smiling every time he saw her. He picked her up and spun around a few times, she laughed and held on to him.

“There’s my silly Lily,” he kissed her forehead and carried her back into the house, “I found her.”

Lucinda looked over from where she stood next to their bed, folding laundry, “Oh good, it’s just about her nap time.”

Lily immediately started struggling,  “nnnn…”

“Sorry, lovey,” he kissed the top of her head, “but it’s true. Nap time.”

She tried to grab his hair, but because she’d become such a hair puller, he’d started his hair up and away from where she could grab it. He carried her over to Lucinda, who took her, and gave her the stuffed rabbit, Finny got for her. She held onto it tightly and continued to pout as she was put in her cot. She closed the curtains and turned off the lights, before going out of the room with Cedric. As she usually did, Lily started crying, and Cedric got antsy listening to her. 

“Cedric,” she put a hand on his cheek, “We should go back to work. She’ll tire herself out and fall asleep.”

He nodded and headed back into the shop, he kept working on the body of Mrs. Smith, while Lucinda sat at the desk and worked on sorting forms. From here, they couldn’t hear her crying, so it was easier to distract themselves. Lucinda looked up from the forms to her husband as he worked and smiled to herself. Thinking about how lucky she was to have found him, to be loved by him, and to have Lily. 

“Something on your mind, love?” he asked, when he noticed her staring at him. 

“Not really,” she shrugged, “I’m just thinking about how much I love you.”

He smiled, “I love you more.”

“I love you most.”

“Not possible, I love you most.”

\----------------------------

Lucinda watched out the window, as the rain poured down outside, it was a good day to stay inside. She thought about those nights, that she was stuck outside in the harsh rains like this. How she always ended up sick, because of them. There was a light tug on her skirt, and she looked down to see Lily looking up at her.

“Mummy okay?” she asked with a head tilt.

“Mummy is fine,” she assured, reaching down to stroke her cheek, “Just got lost in thought.”

She nodded and jumped when thunder crashed through the sky, clinging tightly to her, burying her face in her skirt. Lucinda picked her up, and cuddling her close.

“It’s okay sweetie, I know the thunder is loud.”

“Scary,” she hid her face in her shoulder.

“It can be,” she rubbed her back, “you can sleep with us tonight if the storm keeps up, okay?”

She nodded, “okay.”

Lucinda carried her out to the shop, where Cedric was working on a coffin, he looked over from what he was doing and smiled, “How are my girls?”

Lightning flashed, followed by another thunder crash and Lily buried her face in Lucinda’s shoulder, tense. 

“It’s okay,” she rubbed her back again, “it’s just the storm.”

She carried her over to the couch and sat down, putting her in her lap, and running her hand over her head and down her back. Lucinda hummed as she comforted their daughter. Cedric joined them, holding both of them and humming along with Lucinda, and taking Lily’s hand while they waited out the storm. As they sat there, she heard the rain start to lighten up, and she smiled listening to the lighter drops landing on the roof.

He stroked her cheek, “There, see? Seems the storm is clearing up.”

Lily looked up at him, then reached out for him, “daddy.”

He pulled her into his lap, “Daddy’s right here, sweetie.”

Lucinda stood up, “I’ll go make some tea, if you’ll watch her.”

“Of course I will, I love spending time with my little princess,” he smiled.

She headed off to the kitchen, looking out the window as the water heated on the stove, droplets streaked down the glass, and she watched them. Their lives were like this storm, raging, then suddenly calm, there was no in between for the three of them. She sighed heavily, thinking about the years she’d spent in this shop with Cedric and now with Lily. She was quite a handful, but their lives wouldn’t be anywhere near the same without her. In the end, things would turn out okay. All the petty fights would end with lots of kisses and make up sex, all their problems and future challenges could be faced together. As a family. She was content to look back on the past without regrets, and look forward to the future, ready for whatever was to come next. 

_ The End _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd you think? Pure fluff is all I wanted to do for the end. I hope you liked it. 
> 
> This might be the start of more Black Butler fics, but we'll see how that goes. I've got ideas, but for now it's just ideas. Thank you for sticking around till the end and being patient with my bad update schedule.

**Author's Note:**

> If you managed to survive to the end of the chapter I'd love some feedback.
> 
> If for some reason you want to read the original story here's the link: https://www.quotev.com/story/3519677/Take-me-Undertaker-love-story


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